


Broken Halo

by GeekSheek89



Series: Fine Line [3]
Category: WWE SHIELD - Fandom, World Wrestling Entertainment, ambrollins - Fandom
Genre: Brotherhood, Brothers At War, Catfishing, F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Music, Internal Conflict, Jealousy, Lies, Love Triangles, Love/Hate, M/M, Missed Opportunity, Past Relationship(s), Past Tense, Past Violence, Reunions, Reunited and It Feels So Good, Tinder, Unrequited Love, Unresolved Emotional Tension, WWE - Freeform, WWE Shield, ambrollins - Freeform, tinder dates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-03-04 17:14:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 66,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13369398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeekSheek89/pseuds/GeekSheek89
Summary: [[3rd instalment of the Fine Line series]]Dean and Seth cross path once again in there pursuit for tag team gold. Sparks will fly as they are still unable to put the past behind them and is once again dragged up to the surface with old feelings and raw emotions still running wild through them both. Can Seth finally get over his favourite addiction or is Dean about to make the biggest mistake of his life.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, I want to thank you lovely, lovely people for all your kudos/ likes/ follows and such kind words about this series… (I'm sorry I haven't been able to reply to everyone individually) I'm sorry it has taken so long to get this next one out but this series alone has driven me to the edge of sanity and back trying to get it written while juggling everything that adults are supposed to do around it. 
> 
> This story is the third installment in the Fine Line series following of from The Fine Line and Change my Mind (read these before you carry one reading this one!) It follows there 2017 storyline and will start after Great Balls of Fire (Yes in previous stories this was going to be called something else... but I'm saving that title at a later date ;))  
> Anyways on with the show, I hope you like it. GS X x

**_Another night where I don't care at all,_**  
**_Give anything to erase every action,_**  
**_Just Need Someone to help brace this fall,_**  
**_Clear my head and be my perfect distraction._**

**Broken Halo - Digital Summer**

**_July 10th 2017  
Monday Night Raw_ **

Seth held the phone to his ear as the usual dial tone rang out. He paced nervously up and down the locker room "Come on, pick up" he muttered. But once again was met with Roman's voicemail. "Damn it" ending the call he tossed the cell back into his bag slumping down onto the small leather sofa with a defeated sigh, running two large hands through his tangled black hair he leaned back as the concern for his AWOL friend grew. He shuddered at the memories of last night. Watching him plough that ambulance into the semi-truck. And Strowman, that poor bastard. What had driven Roman to that level? He had lost matches before, and sure, he would be pissed. But to damn near kill a man, that was a new low.

He never rode with Seth after the show that night, nor did he check into the hotel. Seth was getting desperate. Asking every person he walked passed if they had seen him and everyone replying with the same thing.  _"Not since last night."_

He knew that desperate times called for desperate measures and a cold panic washed over the man as he rose to his feet. There is only one other person Roman would go to in times of crisis. A man of whom he hadn't had a civil conversation with since his unexpected arrival to Seth's hotel room one night in February.

He still hadn't forgiven Seth for their argument.

Seth kept his little promise to him, however, not telling anybody about his little midnight visit. But what good did it do? That night fractured there already battered relationship.  ** _"What the hell's going on between you two?"_**  Roman would ask, but Seth would just shrug, pretending he had no idea. Pretend that their little argument had never happened. That Seth didn't try to admit his true feelings to the man and have it blow up in his face. Hadn't accused the man of wanting something more between them and calling him a liar. Pretended that he didn't have his heart destroyed yet again by that Lunatic.

Now all they did was share looks of disdain and the odd snide childish comments. He would count himself lucky, at least he wasn't looking to beat him up daily again. But somehow the angry silences felt worse. He missed him, more than he ever thought he would.

…::::::…

Walking the halls of the arena's backstage area he came across the foreboding door. The familiar DA logo stuck front and centre, Seth raised a closed fist and knocked gingerly 3 times. Silence. Seth waited for a beat and knocked again.

"Alright!" the gruff reply came "Heard you the first-" The door flew open. Dean Ambrose stood shirt and shoeless in the open doorway. A light dusting of chest hair gathered across his pale skin and is messy brunette hair falling chaotically from his head. A sight that once upon a time would have reduced Seth into an excited jabbering mush. His bright blue eyes narrowed suspiciously and a little confused as he scanned Seth from head to toe, his nose scrunching as if he was smelling a bad odour. "Rollins?"

"I need to talk to you" Seth pushed passed him barging in. The room looked near identical to his own. Except a lot messier. Clothes were strewn over the one end of the sofa where Dean had obviously opened his duffle bag and tipped it upside down.

"What the-"

"It's Roman" Seth interrupted. Dean's hardened expression softened slightly at the mention of his friend's name. "He's missing"

"So?" Dean shrugged as he let the door shut. Walking over to the mess in the corner of his room he continued to change for the show ahead. Not giving two hoots about the man standing in there with him. "He's a big boy-" he pulled his Dean Ambrose merchandised t-shirt over the top of his head, shaking the shaggy brown mess he called hair out his eyes "-he can look after himself"

"But last night." Seth said quietly, worriedly as he began to pace the small closet sized room "That wasn't Roman. I haven't heard from him, nobody's seen him. We got to do something" Seth said nervously ringing his hands together

" _We?"_  Dean questioned raising an eyebrow. Pulling his arms through the sleeve holes he smoothed the black fabric down

"Has he called you?" Seth ignored his mocking comment. He stopped pacing to stared at the other man. Dean exhaled and shook his head before dropping down slowly onto the small black leather sofa. "Shit, shit, shit," Seth repeated as he began to pace back and forth in the small room. Feeling like his last lifeline snapped from under him. "We gotta do something"

Dean scrubbed his face with his callous hands, groaning through his fingers. "Like what Seth? Call the Cops?" he asked sarcastically slapping his thighs in frustration at the stupidity of the man in front of him "We want to report a missing person. Last seen nearly murdering a co-worker?"

"Better than sitting on our asses!" Seth snapped back. "This is serious Dean. He could be in trouble - You and I both know Roman, that fit of temper isn't him."

Dean scoffed relaxing back into the plush leather. Bringing his arms up and resting the back of his head in his palms "Yeah, well… We both thought we knew  _you_ once."

Seth's body tensed, the pain and venom still present in Dean's voice after all this time. Clenching and relaxing his fists. Dean's comment didn't surprise him, he was more shocked at how long it took to come up in conversation. Less than 5 minutes, that's got to be a new record. This was useless, he wasn't going to be of any help. "This was a bad idea" he muttered as he walked to the door.

Dean sneered "And there he goes again, folks. Seth Rollins! The master of running away." Seth chose to ignore his comment as he drew the door open and stormed out. As Seth walked away, defeated, he missed Dean delving deep into his jean pocket retrieving his cell phone. Checking to see if Roman had returned any of his calls too.

…:::::…

Seth returned to his locker room, determined to get his mind off Roman and onto the task at hand. His re-match against Bray Wyatt. If Dean didn't seem to care then he shouldn't be worrying about it either, right? Raw was underway and the TV in the far corner hummed away showing a live feed of the in-ring action, Seth's only company in the small room. The Miz was hosting some ridiculous awards ceremony for him and his 'Miz-tourage.' Paying very little attention to what he was saying Seth was more pre-occupied with his phone. 'O _ne more call_ ' he scrolled through the call log in his phone and selected Roman's number. Voicemail, again. The loud shrill beep hurt his ear as he began to leave a message "Rome? Come on Uce where are you? Just lemme know you're ok."

" ** _-Seth Rollins-"_**

Seth hung up the phone and his attention shot up to the screen, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.  _'What the?!'_ **"- _he would expose Bray Wyatt for the fraud he is but the only fraud I saw was Seth freakin' Rollins_ "** Did the Miz just call him out? He flashed the camera a large Hollywood pearly white smile, the kind of shit eating grin you would expect from a grade A suck up like him. Seth clenched his phone tightly in his grasp.  _'Who the hell does he think he is!?'_

Seth's feet were moving, out the locker room and down the hall quicker than he realised. The wind whistled past his ears as he ran towards the ring with determination, needing something else to concentrate on other than Roman's whereabouts. And maybe beating the snot out the Miz was just what the doctor ordered.  _'I'll show that damn Hollywood wannabe.'_ As he reached the ring entrance he was greeted with the sound of familiar music.

Dean had gotten there first.

Storming his way down towards the Miz and his accomplices before taking him down and laying fists into his perfect hair. Seth smirked as he watched Dean beat the snot out the man, but there was no surprise as the attack soon turned on him. Dallas and Axel beginning their assault. Seth had seen enough, throwing the curtain back he sprinted to the ring. Laying out the Miz, Dallas and Axel, sending the latter flying over the top rope. He bounced on the ropes as Miz and his Miz-torage scurried up the ring towards the back. Hopping off he turned to check if Dean was ok. He stood leaning against the turnbuckles on the opposite side of the ring staring daggers through Seth, obviously unimpressed by his help.

Not fancying an Ambrose beat down Seth rolled out the ring quicker than he entered. And without a single glance back he headed back through the curtain.

…::::::…::::::…::::::…::::::…::::::…::::::…

Dean was livid. Not only did Miz get the better of him… again. His body ached from the 3 on one assault and was still in a sour mood from his loss last night. But to have  ** _him_**  of all people come to his rescue was definitely the final straw that broke the camel's back. He thundered down the hall after that smug bastard. Rounding a corner, he clocked him a few paces ahead. Not showing off that usual cocky swagger Dean had come to associate with him. "What was that?!" His angry voice echoed the dark hallway grabbing Seth's attention, forcing a stare down between them.

Seth stopped "What?" he asked defensively, a usual Rollins front. "I wasn't going to let the Miz run his mouth about me" There was an air about the man that Dean wasn't used to seeing, something that almost resembled remorse.

"Right, nowadays you got this great reputation to protect-"

"I'm working on it"

"I don't trust you." Dean cut him off. Getting up close to Seth's face. His expression twisted and contorted into a look of disgust "You screwed that up. This isn't going to happen again. You stay out of my business," he growled. "I'll stay out of yours." He stepped back as he observed the man. Seth's arms folded tightly across his chest emphasising his large muscle mass. His jaw clenching and relaxing as his chocolaty brown eyes stared into Deans.

"And what about Roman?" Seth's voice carried softly around the tall hallway, no hint of anger at the confrontation. "Whose business, is he?" The comment seemed to amuse the Lunatic. Letting out a single bark of a laugh and shaking his head. Like bickering divorced parents squabbling over the custody of their child. Which in their case was a big 250lb+ Samoan child. Rolling his eyes, he turned his back on the man, fed up with the entire conversation he continued his path towards his own locker room "He got himself into that mess" Dean called waving a dismissive hand over his shoulder. Seth's steps echoed the hall as he chased after him.

"No, no, no. Don't do that!" Seth grabbed his shoulder forcefully spinning him on the spot, they were practically nose to nose again, this time Seth on the attack. "Just because you're pissed at me, don't take it out on him. If he needs our help, I'm not turning my back on him"

Dean scoffed "First time for everything"

Seth sighed. Dropping his gaze to the ground he scratched his bearded chin "Whatever" he muttered shaking his head and walking away. This definitely wasn't the Seth Rollins he knew and ~~loved~~ tolerated. He didn't like it.

"HEY!" Dean roared after him "I'm not done with you!"

"Well I'm done with you" Seth answered back not breaking his stride pattern.

Deans brain raced, he couldn't let him leave. "You never did say sorry"

This made Seth stop. He didn't turn to look at him but angled his head to talk to him over his shoulder. "Would you forgive me if I did?" Dean let out another bark of a laugh and dropped his gaze, staring at his boots, almost taken aback by his bluntness. The truth is, Dean would forgive him. But he wasn't going to tell him that.  _'Give Seth that satisfaction? No. He fucked this up, this is his fault.'_ At least, that's what he'd tell himself. As the brief silence stretched between them Seth mumbled: "Then why waste my breath?"

Deans gaze snapped up at the back of his head again as he continued to walk away. Anger seethed through his veins as he chased after him. Grabbing Seth's shoulders and roughly throwing him into the nearest wall. Pinning him against the cold concrete an arm's length away, forcing him to look into his scowling expression. That fire sparking up again deep inside him, like it always did when they came into contact. The hatred, the love, all burning, mixing together. Hoping that Seth would take the bait and lay a fist straight into his jaw. But he didn't. Seth just glared at him. Swatting away his arms he brought up two forceful palms and shoved hard against Dean's chest making him stumble backwards.

"What the hell's your problem!" Seth bellowed

"You are!" Dean yelled back. Even though anger raged through him he managed was a small surprising chuckle. "You're such a cocky bastard you know that!"

"Learnt from the best" Seth retorted.

Dean ran a hand over his collarbone. Gripping the fabric of his shirt. He was trying to ground himself, trying hard not to lay a fist into that pretty, smug face of his. "I know your game Davenport." He continued managing to regroup his thoughts "You think coming to my rescue will make me forgive you. After everything you did?!"

"I didn't go out there for you!" Seth's voice rising to match Deans angry pitch, reverberating off the high ceiling "I went out there to prove a point to the Miz. You don't mess with the King Slayer!"

Dean rolled his eyes and let out a long-exasperated groan "Oh come on, gimme a break! You know the whole King slayer thing is super lame right?"

"Better than being a Lunatic Fringe."

"ENOUGH!" A loud booming voice reverberated off the walls startling them both. Dean turned towards the sound. Roman loom into view. His long black hair slicked back into a low ponytail. He looked like he just arrived, he wore a pair of baggy grey sweats and a black tank top, a far cry from his usual flash expensive suits. "My god you two give me a frigging headache" he vigorously rubbed to large hands over his face and grumbled into his palms. He looked awful like he hadn't slept. Deep heavy bags under his eyes.

"Reigns?!" Seth cried approaching him and punching him softly in the arm "Where the hell have you been? I've been calling you..."

"I know" he gruffed

"So, you've just been ignoring my calls?" Seth questioned clearly intending it as a joke. But Roman gave him a serious stern look, his jaw tensed as he pursed his lips. His silence spoke louder than words could.

Dean sniggered, ' _this is priceless.'_  Romans glare shot straight at him, the same harsh look that silenced Dean instantly."Dunno why your laughing boy. Been ignoring your calls too"

"What the hell Roman?!" Seth continued, in his usual whiny nasally noise. "We've been worried about you"

"There you go with this  _WE_ crap again," Dean mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"You called him to Ambrose"

"That's it! Move!" grabbing each man by the shoulder Roman shoved them both forcefully down the hallway until they came to an empty dressing room. Opening the door Roman ordered the pair into the room following them in and shutting the door. Dean flashed back to his adolescence. It reminded him of being marched to the principal's office after getting caught doing something he probably shouldn't have but was a lot of fun at the time. "What the hell has gotten into you two?!" Roman snapped. His arms crossed, the angry big brother as he always was. Dean shrunk under his hard-stern glare. Crossing his arms in defiance looking everywhere but at Roman. He was pissed, there were no two ways about it. Roman pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled a long deep breath. "You guys were _finally_  getting along. And now you can't even be in the same room as one another without breaking into an argument?!" Dean shifted a sideward glance towards Seth. He was looking down at the ground sitting on a small end table. "What the hell happened? Why won't you tell me?!" Seth looked up, first glancing at Roman, then across to Dean. The room filled with a horrible thick silence that made Dean squirm uncomfortably on the spot as he broke his stare away from Seth. "Fine." Roman continued calmly "you won't tell me. I thought we were brothers but, y'know, whatever."

"Come on Rome, don't–"

"Don't What Seth?!" Roman barked. Dean looked across at the angry Samoan. His glare on Seth making him physically flinch and shrink under his glower. "Day in day out all I get for you is you bitching and whining about him!" he pointed an accusing finger towards Dean "and you won't even tell me what he fucking did to piss you off?!" Dean scoffed, shaking his head annoyed by this whole scenario, made to feel like a child being told off was damn near humiliating. "And you!" Romans gaze followed his outstretched arm. Taking a single step towards Dean "If I hear you mention  _"Davenport"_  one more time I swear I'm going to ram your head through a fucking drywall!" Dean bit his tongue. He wanted to fire a comeback at him but for once decided to keep his mouth shut. "I've had it with you two. If you guys won't tell me what happened, then don't include me in your petty childhood bullshit!" Dean pursed his lips, his arms still forcefully crossed so tightly over his chest he thought he would cut off his own air supply. He passed another quick glance at Seth. His attention was firmly fixed on the floor again, a hand stroking his beard, his leg doing that weird twitchy bounce thing he did. "You two have been driving me insane. I can't eat, I can't sleep, all I get 24/7 is you two,  _my brothers_  bitching and moaning, at each other throats. I can't take it anymore. It was only going to be a matter of time before I snapped and last night just proved it-" Roman fell silent screwing his eyes closed as if regretting the words that fell from his mouth. Seth's jaw dropped, his eyes widened in amazement as he stared at their friend. Dean, however, grew angrier in disbelief, he scowled at the man as the realisation of his words dawned on him slowly.

"You're blaming us for that?" Dean asked in an eerily calm tone. Trying his hardest to hide the burning rage that festered under the surface. "Are you seriously saying that it's our fault you rammed that fucking ambulance?"

"I never said that," Roman said softly, his wide brown eyes staring instantly into Deans, pleading with him, but he was buying none of it.

"But you implied it." Roman pursed his lips and avoiding Deans stare. He approached the Samoan carefully studying him as if he had discovered some unknown amazing artefact. "There is only one person that climbed into that ambulance willingly last night and he needs to take a good long hard look at himself in the mirror before he starts placing the blame anywhere else... And as for brothers?" Dean scoffed examining him from head to toe "It's like I don't even know you right now."

Roman cleared his throat before mumbling something that sounded like, "I made a mistake…"

"A MISTAKE!" Dean blurted. His calm façade finally cracking. "No Roman… A mistake is accidentally putting salt in your coffee. Writing a 2 when it should have been a 3. What you did was straight up manslaughter!"

"Dean" Seth tried to warn but was shot down,

"Shut up!" A small snippet of his rage leaking out as he glared directly at Seth. His brow scrunched and furrowed into a painful frown. Seth blinked at him, surprised by his sudden outburst. "Tell you what, let me make this _reeeeal_  easy for you both to understand. I want nothing to do with _either_  of you." Slowly turning his eyes back to Roman, boring a deathly glare into his cheekbone while the latter stared at the wall next to him. Avoiding Dean's eye contact at all cost "We aren't brothers, there's going to be no Shield reunion, you got that?" Roman inhaled quick and sharp, his nostrils flaring and jaw tightening. Barging passed the Samoan, ramming his shoulder hard and forcefully against Romans stonework physique making him stumble back as he moved, storming towards the door. There was a mumbled muffled plea from Roman making Dean stop dead at the door, letting out a single angry 'you got to be kidding me' bark of a laugh. "Maybe I didn't make myself clear enough." Turning back to stare at his two former brothers he raised his arm and presented his middle finger hopefully sending the message loud and clear "go fuck yourselves." And with that Dean left, slamming the door forcefully behind him.

…::::::…

He didn't return to his locker room straight away like he intended. Instead, he found himself wandering the backstage of the arena, not really knowing where he was going. His anger reaching boiling point, he needed to let off steam before he would do something he would regret later. His wanderings lead him to a part of the arena that he was pretty sure was off limits to everyone bar the arena staff, but when has Dean ever played by the rules? He slipped down a near pitch black narrow corridor. The hissing and spluttering rattle of what he assumed to be the boiler or generator clattered down the hallway. Just the right tempo to hide his rasping roar as his emotion broke free. Laying a fist into the solid wall, pain instantly engulfed his hand shot up his arm, but it didn't stop him hitting the same crevice in the wall again and again until his hand was numb. Drawing back, he admired his work. A small dent in the crumbling brickwork, flexing his fingers his wrist answered in complete suffering, 4 horribly grazed lacerated knuckles, fresh warm crimson liquid dribbled in between his digits. Tears stung his eyes, unsure if his body was reacting to the pain in his arm or the hurt in his heart. He crashed against the opposing wall, his heart racing with every uneven heavy breath he took as he slid to the floor.

This is how he coped. When he felt like  _this_ , broken and disconnected from the world. He could always count on the old school ways to ground him. Beating up everything and everyone until the hurt went away. He would tell himself  _'It could be worse.'_  He could turn to drink, drugs, sex. All of which right now was sounding like a pretty good idea. But the thrill of the fight had always been his calling. This was all he ever knew.

He flexed his fingers again and hissed with the pain, turning his hand over to examine his blood-soaked wrist tape. He thought about how proud Renee would be of him for not planting his fist in the faces of two of the WWE's best stars. He did not like the idea of having that conversation with her nor head office. But in the same breath thought about how she would scold him for resorting to such 'primitive ways.'

" ** _You can talk to me about this you know"_** her bright smiling words echoed in his head matching her uplifted happy expression. He knew he could, and occasionally he did. But no one that knew him better than  _they_  did. He banged his head against the wall, each thump harder than the last.  _'Now I have neither of them.'_  For the first time in years, he felt truly alone. Angry at his brother's blame.  _'Blaming me for that shit?! Who the hell does he think he is?'_  when a horrible thought crossed his mind, and how this whole situation felt horrible and ironically familiar. ' _The brother blaming the other for his own misdoings? Passing the guilt off onto the other so he wouldn't have to deal with the truth_.' Dean bit down on his tongue hard and rested his forehead against his updrawn knees.  _'That why you reacted so badly to Roman. Did it remind you of turning up unannounced at a hotel room?'_ He slapped the floor with his palms so hard that the echo in the tiny space sounded like a gunshot. "That was different" Dean muttered to himself staring out into the blackness expecting to see someone there.  _'Was it? Who are you trying to fool?'_ Dean balled up his fist and lay blow after blow into the side of his temple.  _'And now, because of your selfishness, you've lost him and Roman! And when Renee finds out, she'll leave you too. Just like everyone always does!'_ Dean let out another roar and smashed his head hard against the wall behind him. Anything to stop his dark thoughts from wandering too far. However, all he managed was to give himself a pretty uncomfortable headache.

He sat in the near darkness for what seemed like hours, waiting for the subtle throb in his head to dull down before feeling stable enough to join the rest of the roster for the end of the show. He left the vicinity and safety of his hallway and headed towards the hustle and bustle of the main area. After cleaning up his hand he joined a gathering of superstars and staff around a large tv monitor situated in the middle of the busy hallway. Dean smiled as he recognised the beautiful blond that graced the screen. Flashing an award-winning smile. His girlfriend Renee Young.

"Your one lucky man Ambrose" someone in the crowd commented to which Dean just smiled and nodded  _'Yeah, I am.'_

"Please help me welcome my guest at this time. Seth Rollins."

' _Speak of the devil.'_

Once again was unable to stop his thoughts wandering back to him. He thought about how hurt Seth had been that night in the hotel, the look on his face as Dean left. The dozen or so voicemail messages he had left him, each one sounding more desperate than the last but none of them saying what Dean wanted to hear. Before, they had spent a year not talking to one another, ignoring each other's existence quite happily. Then he comes crashing back into his life like a meteor and Dean realised how much he had truly missed him. Only to have him ripped away again, and the only person he had to blame was himself.  _'Your stubbornness will be the death of you Ambrose!'_

Main event time: Bray Wyatt Vs Seth Rollins. Dean found himself watching intently, almost transfixed on the self-proclaimed "Kingslayer." There was no denying, the guy knew how to move around that ring. Something that Dean had always admired about him. He felt that usual tug of some unfamiliar emotion inside his chest as he watched the man saunter around that ring like he owned it. And boy, did he own it.

Bray hit Seth with a vicious looking headbutt that even made Dean wince. Seth staggered blindly for a moment or two before falling victim to the Sister Abigale and for the 3 count. Dean couldn't help but smirk at his little loss, chuckling to himself. But his smile soon faded as he recognised the 3 shadows moving through the crowd towards the Ring. "Miz" he growled. He wasn't letting the Miz get away this time, he wasn't finished with that Hollywood loser. Annoyance surging through him as he ran towards gorilla position. Reaching the black curtain, he snapped up a chair and disappeared through into the arena.

The roar of the crowd all but blurred out as Dean ascended the ring beginning his assault. Swinging the steel chair like a madman, laying waste to Dallas, Axel and finally Miz. Bringing the steel chair down across his back again and again until his cronies dragged his lifeless body out the ring. Dean paced back and forth yelling at all three of them still swinging the weapon wildly. Completely oblivious to the wonderous stare of amazement from the dazed and confused Seth slumped in the turnbuckles.


	2. Chapter 2

** 17th July 201 ** **  
**Monday Night Raw** **

Seth arrived at the arena early. He always liked to get there early, figure out where all the amenities were, get a quick post-show work out in. It was better than sitting alone in his hotel room. Tucking a stray strand of hair back under his baseball cap he dragged his suitcase along the hallway, heading towards the shared locker room. His phone buzzed in the pocket of his cargo shorts. Coming to a stopped he whipped it out, hoping that it was Roman returning his messages. But it wasn't. Instead, it was a notification from an app he downloaded a few weeks ago. The small flame icon in the corner of the screen announced that he "Had a Match" and 'the match' had sent him a message. Seth smirked to himself as he slid open the phone and reviewed it, hurriedly typing out a reply.

"Didn't know you were on Tinder." The sweet familiar female voice snuck up beside startling him. Renee smiled down at his phone. "He's cute."

Seth clutched his phone to his chest, not wanting her to see anything else before locking and sliding the device back into his pocket. Her arrival took him by surprise, she wasn't what Seth would call a friend. In fact, he didn't have much to do with her at all since her arrival back on Raw. This was nothing against Renee of course, but mostly to do with whom she was associated with. She was sweet, kind and always laughing. A tick in all the right perfect girlfriend boxes. A real down to earth 'girl next door' kind of feel about her. And Seth felt if the circumstances had been different they could have been really good friends. But today she didn't look like she was laughing. Her usual sparkle in her eye was dulled and her normal radiant smile was none existent. She looked troubled. "Have you got a sec? I need to talk to you" she knitted her fingers together nervously as she looked up at Seth.

"Me?" Seth questioned, "Why me?"

"It's… Dean" she said quietly. Seth's heart stopped in his chest.  _'oh crap'_

"I don't - What about him?" he rambled nervously, fiddling with the hood cords on his black and brave jacket.

Renee sighed as she began. Discussing with him how Dean was a different person of late, he was quiet, sullen, and now that he and Roman were no longer talking it was even worse. All of which made Seth feel rather uncomfortable like maybe she should be having this conversation with Ambrose instead of him. "…I haven't seen him like this since…" Renee trailed off, looking up at Seth before passing her gaze over to some production crew members setting up for the show. "I'm scared he's going down into some dark place again and I won't be able to pull him back this time. So, I went to Roman. Of course, he told me what I already knew-"

"What's any of this got to do with me?" Seth spoke firmly interrupting her.

"I just thought that maybe because last week… You saved him from the Miztorage. And then he-"

"That wasn't for his benefit. Look, Renee, I've got nothing to do with Dean's feelings or whatever alright, I haven't for a while. Whatever's going on it's between him and Roman." Convinced that he sounded believable he carried on his path towards the locker rooms.

"I know you guys were talking again." Seth gulped as he came to a stop.  _'Double Crap.'_  The grip on the handle of his suitcase wound tighter "Or at least started too- I'm not stupid Seth." Renee caught up with him. Blocking his path, she stood with her arms folded across her chest defiant with a stern expression fleeting across her face. "I get why Dean didn't want to tell me, he would be worried about how I'd react… But I can see that you've changed." She extended her arm and rested a soft caring hand on his bicep. Seth's eyes flicked from her perfectly manicured nails resting on top his tanned arm up to her soft smile "You're not the same person you were back then. And honestly, I've never seen Dean happier than when he was talking with you." She stroked his arm lovingly, much like you would pet a cat.  _'Dean… happy?'_ His heart did that stupid little flutter as this thought wriggled its way around his head.

"Yeah well… We're not talking now." Seth sighed looking down at the ground. A small sad smile twitching the corner of his lips

"Why. What happened?"

Seth's sighed rocking his head back to stare at the ceiling. Deciding that it's not a good idea to mention the argument, or Deans midnight visit he just shrugged. Dropping his gaze back down to Renee and her soft warming expression "Honestly, I have no idea. Who knows what goes on in that lunatics' head"

Renee chuckled as if she understood exactly where he was coming from. "Could… could you talk to him? Please? You did it once before, right? You guys wouldn't have started talking again for no reason. Just do what you did last time." Seth gulped looking away uncomfortably as he recalled the  _'Last time.'_  He ran his hand up the back of his neck remembering oh so vividly the first time they really spoke. Survivor Series. There locker room confession, Seth's impromptu kiss. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. "I just hate seeing him like this"

"Ok, I'll try." He mumbled "but I make no promises"

Renee beamed at him, flinging her arms around him she gave him an enormous hug. Seth froze like a tight awkward stone statue as Renee pressed up against him. Her cheek squishing right up against his chest. Completely catching him off guard, his arms pinned to his sides in her vice-like bear grip, for a small girl she was quite strong. "Thank you" she murmured into his pectoral. But all Seth could manage was to pat her back limply.  _'Don't thank me just yet, I still have to talk to him.'_

…::::::…

The show was mere minutes away from starting and had yet not come across either Dean or Roman. Seth sat on a wooden bench in front of his locker, his elbows planted firmly on his knees and chin resting in his upturned palms. Even though he wasn't alone physically, Seth sure felt it. Everybody was deep in their own conversations, about the show ahead, their plans for the week, and general chit-chat that Seth didn't feel like being a part of. He had too much going on in his head to even concentrate on the here and now. His knee bouncing slightly as he ran down the list of all his problems.

First off, there had still been no contact from Roman. In fact, it seemed like he was going out of his way to actively avoid him altogether. Still, Seth found comfort (all be it a little amount) knowing that he was at least ok. Then there was the Miz. Sticking his nose in where it doesn't belong, calling him out last week trying to cause a grievance, then beating the crap out of him at the end of his match, but who should come to his rescue? Dean Ambrose. Swinging that chair like a madman. So much for his "Stay out of my business" speech last week. Dean had seemed pretty adamant that he wanted nothing to do with Seth. But then on the same night Saving him from a beat down from the Miztorage. Talk about mixed signals. Maybe Dean would be willing to talk without resorting to violence. He was going to do this, not just for Renee's sake but for his own. He missed Dean, hell he missed Roman too. He wondered how badly Dean was really handling the Roman exclusion. If anyone knew at first-hand what it's like to lose everyone all at once, he was the guy. Clearly bad enough if his girlfriend of all people would come to Seth asking him for help. Seth rolled his head back smiling to himself, completely baffled by the whole thing.  _'She knew about us talking, all this time.'_  This was definitely some cruel twisted joke. Someone somewhere was having a really good laugh at his expense right now.

At that exact moment, the man in question burst through the door to the locker room. He looked rough like he'd slept in his rental car… again. He stormed over to the only unoccupied space left, unfortunately, that space was situated next to Seth. He growled like a feral animal as he unpacked his duffle bag, muttering to himself.

"You look like shit" Seth scoffed. Dean flashed him an annoyed glare, his eyes alight with fury, the deep shadows across his face enhanced by the matching scowl as he slammed his ring gear with force to the bench. "You talked to Roman?" Seth continued ignoring Deans warning stare, used to the reaction, like the water of a ducks back.

"Nope." He said bluntly returning to his bag and changing swiftly.

"Me neither… I think he might actually be avoiding me. Actually, I got an idea that-"

Dean let out a bark of a laugh looking up to the ceiling before shooting an annoyed glare at Seth "What is this?" he waved his hand in the space between himself and Seth "acting like we're BFF's again? I dunno where you got this idea from boy because we ain't"

"But last week, the stuff with Roman, the Miz-"

"The Miz is mine, so back off!" He snapped ramming the zipper of his bag shut after he was fully changed "and as for Roman?" He wandered over to the furthest side of the room glancing over a shiny black steel chair "Truth is he's just sick of us. Doesn't need us anymore." Back to the usual frosty Ambrose reception. Great. Scooping up the chair he snapped it shut "now if you don't mind, I got some business to attend to."

"Where are you going?" Seth questioned but he was already gone. The buzz and commotion of the locker room seemed to die down as their attention turned to the large flat screen TV that hung on the wall. Raw was going live in 3…2…1.

The roar of the crowd filled the arena, a clear indication that the show had indeed started. As the camera panned across the excited Nashville crowd. The tone soon changed when Dean's music blasted from every possible speaker to the equally deafening call from the fans. He strutted down the ramp with that steel chair in hand. Seth groaned  _'He's going to call them out'_  Seth thought, a brief wave of worry washing over him.  _'He can't take on all 3 of them'_

"So Miz" Dean yelled down the mic, his words crackling through the TV speakers as he paced back and forth in the ring like a caged animal. "I'm calling you and your boys out, and we'll pick up where we left off last week." Unfolding the chair he placed it roughly in the centre of the ring and sat down.

"He's an idiot, they'll flatten him" Seth didn't hesitate. Rushing from the room and the small distance to the gorilla position, he yelled at the sound guy to hit his music as he snatched up a microphone and headed out down the ramp.

…::::::…::::::…::::::…::::::…

The black and white static video played on the big screen and Dean pursed his lips. _'The fuck does he want?!'_  Unamused as Seth wandered down to the ring. In fact, he was quite pissed that the man arrived uninvited, standing from his seated position and snapping his chair closed he watched Seth step through the ropes. "What are you doing Ambrose?" Seth asked with a shake of his head "Why are you picking a fight you can't win on your own?" Deans brow furrowed in anger at his statement "I'm not saying you couldn't" Seth retracted "your just all over the place man. You told me to not get in the way, stay out of your business. Then you come out swinging this chair around-" he waved a casual hand towards the weapon in Deans grasp causing his attention to flick from his smug face to the chair lodged in his grip "-and it looked like you were fighting… my battles." Dean scoffed  _'the nerve of this guy'_. He ran his tongue across the inside of his teeth as he gaped at him. The sweet thought rippling through his head of laying 'Steely Dan' into his gut. "All I'm saying is, I think you need to calm down and come up with a better plan y'know"

"Of course," Dean smirked, amused by the forwardness of this asshole "A better plan. Look that's your thing alright. I just go where ever the mood takes me. And last week I was in the mood to beat up the Miz and his cronies. You just happened to be in the area" Dean stepped towards the Architect locking his eyes with his wide browns "Truth is Seth, this may come as a surprise to you but not everything's about you." He said mockingly Seth shook his head and directed his attention to the floor "this is my battle so scram!"

"I'm not here to fight your battles, I'm not out-" Dean rolled his eyes and started to pace the ring, bored of the conversation already "-What I'm out here for Dean is to ask you a question." Dean stopped pacing. Turning his attention to Seth again he ambled up to him, scanning him from head to toe. "When I take the fight to the Miz and I will. Brother, will you be in my way or at my side?" Dean froze his stare. And instantly scowled at the man. Seth's still trying to look every little bit as confident as he could for the sake of the cameras, but Dean could see in his eye that he made a poor choice of words. And Dean was fast to pounce.

"I'm sorry did you say, brother?" He questioned

Seth rolled his head to the side screwing his eyes shut "Come on man-"

"I ain't your brother." Dean griped "My brothers were in the Shield. I trusted my brothers, my brothers had my back!" he spat. Seth looked down at the floor obviously regretting his choice of words"-but you-" Dean continued, examining him from head to toe closing the gap between them even more "-I don't know you. I knew a guy a lot like you once. He was a liar,  _a cheater_ -" Seth looked up from the floor giving Dean a soft sideward apologetic glance. His mouth pressed into a hard line "-the kinda guy who would stab his brothers in the back," Dean smirked as Seth fidgeted uneasily on the spot. Obviously getting wound up by his words _'he was so, so easy to wind up.'_ "In fact, he took a chair like this one and stabbed it right through my back and right through my heart"

"That was over 3 years ago and you know what I'm sorry!" Seth roared.  _'Gottcha'_ Dean beamed sticking his tongue out between his teeth unable to hide his utter amusement. Seth stared down at the canvas again stroking his beard. Dean observed as the cool calm Seth Rollins unravelled on live TV, it was perfect. He stared at him, giving him that smug expression that Seth despised "I've never properly said it, so I'll say it again. I'm Sorry." Seth looked up from the floor and stared directly into Deans eyes. A small twinge prickled in his chest when he considered those eyes. The raw emotion rasping from his voice, it was genuine. A genuine apology. Dean began to tap the mic as he listened to Seth apologise again, how he had to live with everything he's done. Telling him how he never forgot the battles they had, the titles that were taken, all the while something layout there unspoken. Probably for the best considering they were standing front of an arena full of fans with cameras pointing at them. "What's it going to take for you to move on?"

The question took Dean by surprise, he rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he pursed his lips.  _'he's moved on? Really? in 4 months he's moved on?!'_ Dean paced around the ring, the steel chair still held tightly in his grip.  _'this is bull crap, what's he playing at?'_

"Ok, I see you don't believe me. I'll let my actions speak for me." Seth stepped closer tapping the steel chair in Deans' hand "You got your chair." He breezed past. Walking across the ring staring out into the audience, his strong defined back facing him. "Do it."  _'Do it? do what hit him?!'_ "Do whatever it takes to get this out of your system. Come on hit me!" he threw the microphone to the floor and extend his arms like the self-righteous Crossfit Jesus he was. _'He's freakin' serious?!'_ Dean mused for a moment. Gripping the chair tightly in his hands. Remembering what delicious sounds he made when he succumbed to Dean's punishment before. The idea of wrapping that steel around his back like he had done to Roman was too tempting. But there he was, sacrificing himself, in front of the whole world, all in an attempt at his forgiveness. And damn it, Dean couldn't do it. He wanted to, oh hell did he want to, but couldn't bring himself to do it. He stood considering his perfectly formed outline for a beat. How his fingers fidgeted nervously, how tense his posture looked as he waited for that blow to strike him down. If only he could see his face, he could only imagine what stupid look he had across it.

He threw the chair across the ring and it slid effortlessly under the bottom rope, crashing to the mats outside. Dean leaned against the ring ropes dragging his tongue across his teeth again before turning to face the man. Their eyes locked. Seth's were wide, nervous, unsure whether to believe what he was seeing in front of him, wondering if this was some kind of trick. But this was no trick, no illusion.

"Let me make one thing clear," he called over the crowd "I sure as hell still don't trust you…" Seth just continued to stare in amazement. His chest rising and falling rapidly as he turned to look at him.  _'Don't trust him? Or don't trust yourself around him?'_ "But I guess this is a start, right?" Dean offered a crooked lopsided smile.

Of course, he was interrupted by the man he originally wanted to get his hands on. The Miz's music blasted around the large open space to the annoyance of the crowd. Dean rolled his eyes as he turned to gaze up the ramp at the Miz and his sidekicks.


	3. Chapter 3

Wincing and with a supportive arm wrapped around his own ribs, Seth hobbled through the curtain. He staggered down the stage steps walking the length of the black cloth tunnel that escorted him away from the ring entrance and into the backstage. He was battered, bruised but would be just fine. The only thing that seems to gain any damage was his pride, embarrassed more than anything that he let the Miz humiliate him in the middle of the ring.

The gruff rasp of Deans voice caught his attention long before Seth even saw him "Will you Zebra's get lost. I'm Fine!" he smirked as the end of the tunnel grew closer. There was no way on Earth that Dean would have taken that ambush lightly. Seth knew and had no doubt he was already planning those assholes demies.

Dean sat atop a stack of production crates at the end of the tunnel, two referees and a third man hovering around him. He swatted them away aggressively like flies at a picnic, a permanent scowl creasing his bruised face. He cricked his neck and held a hand to his temple rubbing a tentative hand over his injury.

"You suffered a head injury, we need to check you over." The short balding man stated as he snapped on a pair of latex gloves. His black polo shirt indicating that he was one of the on-call medical staff.

"I told you. I'm fine. I don't need no doctor" He complained again. Seth shook his head,  _'same old Ambrose.'_  Dean hated doctors, hospitals anything that remotely resembled the medical profession. He wouldn't even watch medical based TV shows. Seth crossed the threshold into the vast backstage area making tracks towards the small crowd, all the time watching Dean continue to whine and complain. He wrapped a hand around his own sore shoulder rolling it back and forth in its socket, it didn't seem damaged, but was pretty sore.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" the doctor asked as he waggled 4 latex covered fingers in front of Deans nose.

"87" he sneered. Rolling his eyes, the doctor raised a small pen-sized torch shining a light into Dean's eyes "get that out my face" he growled swatting it away.

"Let the man do his job Ambrose." Seth groaned as he continued to roll his shoulder leaning against the wall beside him. "The more you cooperate, the quicker he will go away" he teased. A phrase that was heard regularly back in the day when he and Roman would trick him into getting checked over after a match. Closely followed by,  _yep_ , that exact same scowl Dean flashed in Seth's direction. Like a spoilt child told they couldn't have ice cream for dinner. He returned his look of disdain back to the doctor and let him continue his examination in peace. Satisfied that Dean was indeed fine, the group of help dissipated leaving the pair alone.

"You good?" Dean asked with a grunt after a spell of silence.

Seth nodded. He had much worse beatings in his time, this was practically nothing. Sure, Seth's back is going to be bruised to shit and wasn't sure he'll be able to breathe right out his nose for a week but overall, he was ok. "You?"

"Oh yeah," he growled rolling his neck. "Friggin' peachy. Nothin' an icepack and a big bottle of bourbon won't cure."

Seth spotted a table full of water bottles opposite them. He wasn't thirsty in the slightest he just needed something to do to break up the awkward tension. Pushing himself off the wall the pain shot down his spine like an electrical current but played it off like it was nothing as he crossed the hallway swiping two crystal-clear plastic containers from the table and returning to his original stance. "It's not Bourbon. But it's the best I could do." Seth jested handing one of the bottles to Dean. He stared at the offering for a moment, hesitant at first, but soon accepted it literally ripping the top off with his teeth and spitting the cap to the floor before chugging back a hearty mouthful. The silence stretching out between them again.

Seth fixed his attention on the bottle in his hands, as he ran the same question through his head over and over again. Taking a steadying breath and forcing his tremoring leg to stop he finally asked the million-dollar question. "So… are we good?" Another agonising brief stint of silence stretched between the pair, Seth gazed up at him through his long dark lashes to see Deans stoic face, his hard to gauge reaction stared out into the empty space that surrounded them. A couple of production hands floating past with clipboards talking loudly into their headsets momentarily taking Seth's attention off the man sitting above him.

"You mean do I forgive you?" His gaze flicked across to Seth's, considering his eyes for a moment, tapping the plastic bottle with his index finger "I dunno" Dean replied quietly returning to look out over the barren concourse.

Seth let out a displeased breath "You don't know?" Hurt ran through Seth, feeling like everything they had achieved this evening had been for nothing. "But I thought… you didn't hit me-"

Dean slid off the crate like someone had just jabbed him with a sharpened stick "I'm not about to whack a defenceless guy in the back with a chair." Dean stated appalled that Seth would suggest such a thing "What kinda person you take me for? I'm not you" he scoffed. Seth dropped his gaze pursing his lips and ran a hand through his dampened hair. He was crushed, he was certain his little gesture would have meant something to him.  _'My god, what the hell is it going to take?'_  "Although," Dean continued softly "I did appreciate the irony of it." Seth cast his gaze back up again and was met with a small lopsided smirk. The kind of smirk that sent warm pleasant tingles across Seth's body as he returned the gesture. He stood leaning casually against the wooden crates as he took another long sip from his bottle. Even though he was smiling,  _kinda_ , his hard glassy stare was anything but friendly. Seth could almost hear the tyrant of abuse rattling around his head aimed solely at the Miz.

He scowled hard as his attention was now fixed on something over Seth's shoulder. "The hell do you want?!" he spat. His voice was cold, malice. The kind of tone that was usually only reserved for the likes of Seth. Following his gaze, he was surprised to see Roman heading towards them. It was strange hearing him talk to Roman in such a manner and Reigns must have realised this too. His pace slowed as he approached them, his lips drew into a soft straight line, matching his equally soft stare. It was clear, he hadn't come to fight.

Roman cleared his throat "Are you both alright? Looked kinda nasty"

"Jus' great thanks." Dean replied sarcastically, downing the last of his water "In fact never better. I think I might go run a marathon now just for the fun of it." There was clearly no need for his sarcasm, but Seth knew better not to point it out, Roman too. He stood some distance from the pair, arms hanging loosely by his side watching Dean cautiously as if waiting for another verbal assault. But it never came, so Roman took a deep breath and continued. "What I said… that was really shitty of me. And what I did, that was all on me too." Romans apologetic stare cast between Seth and Dean as he ran a nervous hand up his own arm "I shouldn't have … I'm sorry"

Dean crumpled up the bottle in his hand and tossed it casually at Roman. The bottle bounced off his tactical vest and clattered to the floor. "No Thanks" Dean sniffed turning his back on them and heading down the hallway, no doubt back towards the locker rooms.

Roman let out a frustrated breath running a large hand through his own tangled damp black mane. His pleading eyes turned to Seth who stood arms folded across his chest, lips pursed. But the truth was Seth wasn't mad, not like Dean was.

"He's really pissed, huh?" the crumpled water bottle lay at Romans feet, surrounded by a puddle of the spilt liquid. "Seth." His voice soft, apologetic "I'm sorry. I was a jackass alright. I shouldn't have - I did a really shitty thing I know-"

Seth raised a hand to silence his apologetic rambling "you don't have to say anything Ro. We all do and say stupid shit in the heat of the moment" He offered him a small smile "its ok, we're cool." Roman seemed to physically relax at his statement, offering him a small smile of gratitude "besides. I'd be a pretty big hypocrite if I didn't forgive you, right?" Seth joked playfully punching the large man in the arm, but Romans smile faltered slightly, casting a glance over Seth's shoulder obviously checking to see if Dean was still in earshot.

"I'm worried about him." He said nodding in the direction of Deans disappearance.  _'Of course, he is.'_ Always the caring big brother. Even when they were at each other's throats "I don't think he's handling this well."

"It's Dean." Seth scoffed "Does he ever handle anything well?"

"Renee. She came to me before the show. Told me everything."

"I know. She came to me too." Roman's brow knitted together as a look of puzzlement crossed his strong chiselled features. Seth continued, answering the question that was clearly on his mine "She knew that we were talking again." Of course, Seth had confided in Roman after their falling out. Retelling the story of how Dean refused to tell him about Renee and visa-versa. Of course, leaving out the minor details of his midnight visit and screaming argument. But this only seemed to confuse Roman more, his brow scrunching tighter as he opened his mouth to ask the question  _'How?'_  but Seth cut him off, not wanting to think about it right now. "Let me try and talk some sense into him if he see's that I've forgiven you then maybe he'll forgive you too."

…::::::…::::::…::::::…::::::…::::::…

Dean cracked his knuckles as he paced back and forth in the large open space of the locker room. After yelling at a few rookie Superstars ordering them to 'get out' he was finally alone with his thoughts. Which wasn't always a good thing. He was still steaming about the Miz, that cocky arrogant smile, stupid hairstyle and his goons. Then there was Roman, where the hell has he been this past week? He was getting pretty sick and tired of hearing people apologizing today!  _'First Rollins now him?!'_

"You ok?" The small familiar voice broke through his tyrant of angry thoughts.  _'Well speak of the devil.'_  Seth closed the door softly behind him as he walked the length of the room to his locker making himself comfy on the small wooden bench in front of it.

Dean rolled his eyes and huffed "Fine" rolling his neck back and forth, a satisfying crack rattling his spine. Looking like a parent about to have a serious conversation with their kid, Seth knitted his fingers together resting his elbows on his haunches giving him a stern but troubled look. "Are you sure?"

' _oh, for fu-'_  "Yeah I'm great," he snapped waving his arms animatedly with the irritation of his general presence. "Why wouldn't I be? I just got my ass kicked by the fucking douche-torage, my best friend is an ass hole and then you…" he paused. His eyes met Seth's, his wide chocolatey brown puppy dogs melting away any irritation he was feeling. "Doesn't matter" he mumbled running a hand through his tangle of brown locks. He leaned against the wooden frame of his locker all the while aware of Seth's stare boring holes into the side of his head. "What do you want from me Rollins?" Dean asked with a gruff, his eyes fixed on the floor.

"Honestly." There was a long pause, the kind of pause that Dean was dreading, something crappy was about to hit him "I want you to talk to Roman." And there it was. Dean let out a loud bark of a laugh shaking his head  _'Is he fucking for real?!'_  "He sorry y'know"

Dean couldn't help smiling, the strange sense of déjà vu hitting him. It was only a few months ago he stood in a similar locker room to this one having this exact conversation with Roman about Seth. So, Dean followed it up with exactly the same as he did back then. "So what… Are you on his side now? He screwed all of this up. Were supposed to be family, brothers and he just turned on me… on us! He blamed you too, why are you not pissed?"

"Because I made a stupid mistake once and he forgave me... Hell, you both did."

"I never said I forgave you," Dean said abruptly. Which was true, he had never said it… out loud.

"Fine." He knew the sad look that flickered across his face shouldn't have affected him. But he couldn't help but feel that small tug of guilt in his chest. Seth drops his gaze to the floor, shuffling his feet. "So, what are we going to do about our little Miz problem?" he continued in an obvious change of subject, but Dean rolled his eyes letting out an annoyed groan.

"There you go with this WE crap again…"

"Ambrose stop being a jerk!" Seth snapped, all traces of the nice peacemaker vanished. Dean raised an eyebrow puzzled by his outburst. But Seth's gaze held strong, defiant, as his forehead crinkled in frustration "I'm trying to-"

"Well don't alright." Dean cut him off with an equally sassy tone knowing exactly where he was going with this. "… I don't need your help. In fact, I don't want your help" he lied

"I'm not out there to help you. I got business with the Miz too y'know" Seth defended

"Yeah well, I'd rather go into business on my own. I'd rather fight them three on one than have you lurking in the shadows"

Seth rolled his eyes and slowly got to his feet, clearly still feeling the after-effects of their little attack he wrapped an arm around his stomach, a pained expression quickly flashing across his face "If you wouldn't have jumped the gun we could have taken all three of them."

Dean let out a dry pant of a laugh and pointed an accusing finger "You need to stop telling me what to do."

Seth stepped in front of him "'I'm not telling you what to do… I'm just-" he trailed off. Shielding his eyes behind two balled up fists he sighed heavily knowing full well Dean's tenacity being the cause. The mighty King Slayer had been defeated. He smirked argue with him was his favourite game to play, he always did love thwarting him. However, the next words out of his mouth caught him completely off guard. Seth's arms fell to his chest folding them tight across his strong build, his gaze following suit. "I Spoke to Renee earlier."

Dean knew all those words, knew they made a coherent sentence. But it was so out of the blue it took him longer to really register what he had said. "What?"

Seth's eyes met his again soft concerning, oblivious to Dean's confusion he continued "She came to me, before the show."  _'As if that makes it any clearer.'_ A nervous hand rubbing up the back of his neck as his eyes darted to the floor. "she's  _-er-_  worried about you."

"About me?"

"She thinks you're going to go down this dark path of self-destruction or something." Seth still refusing to meet his eye returned to his bench. "Hell, Romans worried about it too." A huff of a laugh escaped his lips as if he couldn't believe it himself. This just irritated Dean more. He was sick of this crap, sick of everybody 'worrying about him.' He was god damn fine! Turning violently on the spot he unzipped his duffle bag and began to cram it with everything he owned, knee pads, jacket, wallet, everything. He didn't even bother to change. He was done with this, done with today, done with people. He just wanted the largest bag of chips he could find, that big king-sized bed waiting for him back at the hotel room and his woman.  _'Renee.'_ Dean stilled mid-pack, frozen in panic. Seth's words coming back, finally registering.  _He_  had spoken to  _Renee_. Gripping a clean t-shirt tightly, he turned slowly to look at Seth. He had returned to his bench, sitting hunched forward elbows and forearms resting on his thighs again his fingers balled together on his lap as he stared out into the locker room.

"Why did Renee go to you? Of all people?!"

Seth scoffed, a small coy half-smile twitching his lips, but his attention was firmly fixed on the empty space of the locker room "that's what I thought too, until..." his smile dropped along with his gaze again. His leg began to bounce on the spot. He took a deep breath "She knew we were talking again"

"How?" Dean snapped. He could almost hear his world crashing around his ears. "You told her?!"

"No" he replied softly "She already knew." Seth threw up his arms in defence, leaning back from Deans souring expression "Dean, she's not mad." Seth smiled slightly "Actually, she seemed quite happy about it."

"Did she." He replied flatly. Even though his exterior showed no sign of care his inside was a tangled mess, his heart pounded away with panic-induced palpitations, his stomach twisted and knotted so violently he thought he might throw up but the icing on top of the emotional cake came from the strange upheaving of relief. He didn't have to hide their friendship anymore… not that they were friends right now. Dean turned back to his belongings and continued to pack, albeit not as hastily this time, trying to sound as detached as he possibly could "What… what did she say?"

When Seth didn't reply Dean cast a glance over his shoulder at him and was surprised to find the man smiling goofily at the floor. A large dazzling smile flashing a row of pearly white teeth, the kinda smile that you only got when remembering a fond memory. "She said she's never seen you happier." There was a pleased twinkle in his eye as he talked so stately. Seth rose his head from the floor and his smile instantly dropped when he realised Deans scrutinizing stare was on him. Quickly returning his gaze to the floor he cleared his throat, still presenting that charming little smile to himself he ran his hand over his bearded chin. "I mean, she seemed cool with it… y'know" Dean grunted in compliance as he continued to pack his bag. The awkward silence stretching between them. "So…" Seth continued "Are you… ok?"

"Yeah. Just fine" he replied bluntly. But if he was honest with himself he was far from 'Just fine.' His heart raced, he felt short of breath. Renee had uncovered his biggest secret. Had known all this time and never said a word. Why? This was dangerous. What else did she know? He needed space to think, to breathe, when did it get hard to breathe in here? Were the walls closing in around him?

"Dean? You ok" Seth's voice sounded pretty distant even though he was stood right next to him. When did he get there? He could feel his hands trembling, he needed to get out. "Hey." the soft familiar voice called to him and as if like magic his mind suddenly came screaming back to reality. Every thought, voice inside his head vanished, the knots in his stomach unravelled, even his charging heart slowed to a normal tempo. A hand rested on his shoulder giving him a light squeeze. The warmth emanating from the touch was comforting, he stared at every single digit, following the tanned arm up to a confused look in Seth's eye, a look that quickly turned into concern. "You've gone really pale," he said softly his hand painfully and what seemed so slowly moving away from him. Ignoring the longing he felt for his touch to return he focused again on his bag again, he needed to leave. Screw it he was packed, he didn't care if he left anything behind.

"I gotta go." He hastily zipped up the carrier and slung it over his shoulder and left the locker room at such lightning speed he's sure he left scorch marks on the floor.


	4. Chapter 4

**24** **th** **July 2017  
Monday Night Raw**

Dean sat alone in the locker room, a small smile plaguing his face as he wrapped his wrists ahead of tonight show _. 'Why the hell did I even agree to this match?'_  He was determined to put an end the douche-torage once and for all but to do it with Seth at his side? Not that they couldn't do it, because, of course they could. But after everything was this such a good idea?

' _What if he double crosses you again?_   _Can you really trust him? What if you let your emotions get the better of you? What if Last week's little episode plays a repeat?'_  Embarrassment washed over him again, but he shook it off. Talking to him on the phone was one thing but seeing him in person? He needed to push all those feelings, thoughts to one side just for one night, and then he'll be gone again. Dean stopped wrapping. Is that what he really wanted though? He bit the inside of his cheek  _'he's doing it again, worming his way into your head Ambrose!'_ Dean waved off the thought again and continued to wrap _. 'Focus on here and now.'_ Get this match done with then he wouldn't need to deal with him or Roman again. He finished taping his one wrist and moved swiftly onto the second. However, it did nothing to stop his wandering mind.

…::::::…

"Don't be mad-" Were the first words he heard down the receiver "-and don't hang up."

It was a warm Friday afternoon and Dean was back home in Nevada when he had received the call, he sat poolside in his backyard, the hot afternoon sun beating down on his bare chest. Recognising the familiar nasally tone he rolled his head back to observe the sky, a white puffy cloud floating past as he groaned inwardly wishing he'd checked the caller ID before accepting the call. This was the first time he had spoken to Seth since Monday. This was nothing unusual for the pair however after the events that transpired last time Dean didn't want to take any chances. Actively going out of his way to avoid the man at every house show, airport and stop over between then and now. Mostly out of embarrassment but also a small twinge of fear that it would happen again. Thankfully his fears were once again all fictional as all he felt now was annoyance that he was being disturbed on his one and only day off. When Seth realised he wasn't going to hang up he continued cautiously "I  _-er-_  wanted to talk to you. Figured this was the best way to reach you." Dean could sense his nervousness even down a phone line. Could imagine the self-prep talk before making the call, that bouncing knee as he talked, that hand running up and down the back of his neck tugging at his hair, so predictable. He was clearly waiting for some kind of verbal onslaught but today Dean didn't feel like arguing. Maybe it was the warm sunny weather or the couple beers he had chugged down, but he was feeling pretty relaxed, a mellow buzz travelling around his body.

"Go on" he prompted, sipping back another mouthful of cool beer

"I _-um-_ got us a match"

"Great. Can't wait to kick your ass again" he said boldly sitting up and placing the beer back on the small plastic table next to his lounger.

"No," Seth said quietly with a small chuckle "I got us a match together… A tag match"

Dean sat up, sliding to the end of his lounger as if this would help with his astonishment. His feet resting on the hot flagstones, the burning sensation not even registering in his head. "You what?"

"You said you wouldn't get mad"

"I didn't say shit"

"Look, it was the only way Kurt would let me fight them. You and me verse two of them"

"Two?" Dean questioned blowing an amused rasp through his lips " _-Pfft-_ why not make it all three and be done with it." He lay back on his lounger draping a relaxed arm over his head

Seth chuckled but the line quickly went silent "are you serious?"

"Hell yeah I'm serious" So it might be the beer talking now but he and Seth could do it. It was just the Douche-torage.

The line stayed silent for a moment longer. "Ok. I'll make the call."

"You do that" Dean smirked

"So how you be-"  _ ***click***_ Dean hung up the phone and slid it across the plastic table next to his pooling beer bottle before settling back down comfortably to take a nap.

…::::::…

The locker room door creaked open breaking his train of thought. Dean didn't flinch, nor did he acknowledge the new arrival. Until Seth's shadow cast over him. He eyed his black matte boots trailing his gaze up to his well-defined calves hidden behind his black and grey ring tights. Heavy black knee pads wrapped securely around his joints, he wasn't taking any chances again after his knee blew out a second time, continuing upwards his vision was now eyeline with his thick muscular thighs. Tearing his eyes away he rose to his feet and met his gaze. Heart hammering as he considered that memorable face. His hair swept back into a low bun, his perfect rounded jawline, his dense black beard outlining the cutest smallest lopsided smile. A genuine look of contentment. Quickly demolishing the thoughts Dean sniffed hard. "What do you want?" he asked, not with the usual frosty reception he would greet the man in question with but enough to make him think there was nothing untoward.

Seth chuckled "Come on, man. First time in three years we've teamed up. It's a pretty big deal. I'm actually looking forward to it, kinda excited. You?"

The truth was Dean was bursting at the seams with excitement. Not that he could let on, of course, he didn't want to look like a needy screaming fan girl or anything. He managed to pass it off with a casual shrug as he finished wrapping his wrists.

"Alright, well it's not why I came in here…" Dean froze, was this about what happened last week? Did Seth notice? "Point is we got worked over by the Miz and his crew last week, so we need to come up with a game plan." Dean sighed with relief but only to be swapped out with irritation. He rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue _, 'there he goes again telling me what to do.'_

"I'm not interested in coming up with one of your plans or anything. I'm just gonna go out there and do the only thing I know how to do-"

"Oh, and what's that?" Seth interrupted "bite off more than you can chew? Get beat by the Miz… again?" Dean pursed his lips and refused to look at the man even though he could feel his stare boring holes into the side of his head. Suddenly aware of how close Seth was standing next to him. "Yeah, sounds like crap doesn't it. It's not just the Miz out there alright. He's got Axel, he's got Dallas. That's three dudes we got to worry about."

Dean shook his head in disagreement before meeting his stare finally. "You have to worry about 3 guys… I have to worry about 4." Dean tossed his wrist tape casually back into his bag before he himself moved into an empty portion of the room.

"Look, I know shits messed up between us right now Dean, but I'm trying to make it better."

"How?" Dean questioned as he began his post-match routine stretches. Dragging his arm across his body and holding it in place. "By pestering me with your talks of plans? I told you. Don't need no King Slaying Architect game plans, I'm just gonna go out there and do what I do best"

Seth scoffed, raising his brow in mock surprise and crossing his arms defiantly across his chest "You mean get your ass handed to you?" Dean puckered his lips in annoyance and ignored his comment. Annoyed at the fact that he was right. This wasn't his first rodeo, he knew they needed some kind of strategy, the numbers were against them tonight and as much as he hated/ secretly loved the idea, he needed his help. "Fine. You don't have to listen to me, just thought you wanted to win" Seth grumbled uncrossing his arms and headed to the door. That seemed to grab Deans attention, of course, he wanted to win! But he also didn't really want Seth to leave.

"Hypothetically…" Dean resumed, switching arms as he continued his warm-ups "Let's say I humour you, and I was to listen to this great plan-" Seth stopped and turned to face him, that stupid goofy grin creeping across his face.  _'Damn that adorable dork.'_

…::::::…::::::…::::::…::::::…::::::…::::::…

Game time. Seth stood at the entrance to the ring. A flurry of activity going on around him but was solely focused on one thing. Dean bounced on the spot just ahead of him, his brunet hair bounding along with every hop the man took. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles and swiped a bottle of water off the table next to him, emptying half the contents onto his head. Seth could watch him prep for a match all day, he was fascinating to watch. A pure creature of habit, having the same little rituals day in day out for as long as Seth had known him. Dean reached around extending his arm behind him, offering Seth the last half of the bottle. Cautiously taking it from his hand he thanked him with a single nod. Dean offered him a small lopsided smile, his dimples coming into play.

It was like they had never missed a beat. Dean started of course, desperate to get his hands on the Miz. But he wasn't so keen to get his hands-on Ambrose, tagging out almost instantly to Axel. Dean shrugged, hooked Axel arm and hip tossed him over the top rope. Seth laughed, he had always enjoyed watching Dean work. This was his playground and sadly Axel was his new favourite toy.

Seth tagged himself in. Matching Deans same hard hitting fast pace, laying waste to both Axel and Dallas quickly. They were an unstoppable force. Whipping Dallas over with a snap mare, he landed flat on his ass, taking the advantage Seth launched himself off the ropes into a vicious kick to his chest. Dallas yells in winded pain as he flopped to the matt. His gaze drifted up towards his corner to see Dean smiling and giving an appreciative little fist bump. Seth grinned, feeling of delight swelling in his chest. Taking his eyes off Dallas for a split second. He was back on his feet and sent Seth crashing into the ropes and hit him with a vicious elbow. Seth lay on the mat, slightly dazed. Before he even realised what was happening he was met with the Miz's boot. Coming up behind him driving his knee repeatedly into his spine, bringing his elbow hard down to his chest.

"Come on Seth!" Deans words cut through the noise in the arena clearest of all. Miz picked him up but Seth started to fight back. Laying fists into his stomach he managed to break free of his grip. Dodging his lefts and rights he bounced off the roped and hit the A-Lister with a sling blade _. 'That's why you don't mess with the King Slayer!'_ Seth glared at the man as he crawled across the mat towards him. Wanting to make quick work of him he grabbed Miz by his  _not so_ perfect hair only for the momentum to shift and clocked him with a jawbreaker. Seth stumbled back into his corner when a forceful hand crashed down across his shoulders. Dean had tagged himself back in.

Resting on the apron for a beat he watched as Dean chase the Miz around ringside like a game of cat and mouse. Miz slid back under the ropes with Dean hot on his tail, only for him to escape back out while Axel snuck in behind Dean.

"Behind you!" Seth pointed. Dean spun and clocked Axel with a nasty right. Whipping him into the ropes closest to Seth, he beamed over at him.

"Plan time Mr Architect" he beamed and tagged in Seth. He didn't waste any time, Dean sprang to the opposite side of the ring to deliver the missile dropkick while Seth followed quickly behind mimicking the same move. Dallas entered the fray to hit them with a double clothesline only for them to duck and hit him with a clothesline of their own, sending him over the top rope. They both turned sharply to see the Miz scurry his way back out the ring and away from them. Sitting atop the crowd barrier, terrified of the two brothers in the ring.

"Like we never missed a beat," Dean said his grin impenetrable as he bounced eagerly in the centre of the ring. And Seth couldn't agree more.

The match continued with a startling shift in momentum. So how, someway the Miz gained the upper hand. Laying all kinds of punishment to Seth. He could just make out Dean's outstretched hand around Miz's slender frame "Come on Davenport! Come on, just a bit further"Dean's hand fluttered in the open air desperately reaching for a tag, mere fingertips away. But Miz delivered a hard kick to the gut winding Seth and sending him staggering across the ring followed by a neck breaker for a cover, but Seth was too quick and kicked out at 2. But it didn't stop the onslaught. Axel tagged in, laying blow after blow to the Architect, followed by Dallas, followed by the Miz. The same brutal punishment. All the while Dean's words of encouragement travelling from the corner to his ears. Seth slumped in the Miztorages corner as Miz loomed over him "Come on  _Davenport_." He mocked "Shall we see if your  _boyfriend_  will come to your rescue again?" he sneered. Somewhere deep within Seth found a new wave of energy and burst out the corner, planting angry fist to the Miz, knocking Dallas and Axel off the apron but making the fatal mistake of keeping his back turned on the Miz for too long. He was met with a boot to the gut straight into a DDT. Another near fall, Seth kicking out at the last second. He lay lifeless in the ring.

"Come on Seth! This is no time for napping!" Dean called. Vaguely aware that he was walking down the apron towards him. He met his stare as he leaned between the ropes "You got this. These guys are nothing you hear me?!" Seth managed a weak mere nod and Dean grinned "That's my boy. Hurry up get me tagged in" he clapped before the Ref ushered him back to their corner.

Seth crawled back to his knees, only to be met with another barrage of the Miz's IT Kicks. However, Miz was too busy showboating, winding up the crowd for the last devastating blow this gave Seth just enough time to catch a breather and sneak a roll-up pin. It wasn't enough. Seth was back to his feet and met Miz in a mid-air collision knocking both men to the floor. The crowd fiercely behind the Architect but there was only that one voice that stood out.

"Come on Seth!" Dean roared as he bounced impatiently on the apron that arm outstretched again. Seth staggered to his feet, so close to grabbing the tag. Only to have Axel grab him from behind throwing him back into his corner. Picking up just enough speed Seth managed to avoid his attack and send him crashing into the middle turnbuckle. On his hands and knees, he crawled towards Dean "Dallas, Behind you!" Seth whipped around just in time to see Dallas advancing fast with another clothesline. Seth dodged successfully and lunged at Dean. Tag. The Lunatic was finally in.

Exhausted Seth rolled out the ring, lying on the cold rubber mats surrounding ringside trying to catch his breath. Staggering to his feet just in time to see his partner leap from the top rope with ease, crashing on top of Dallas for the pin. Miz hitting a hard kick to Deans face breaking up the pinfall. Seth growled as he slid back under the rope, charging at Miz and sent him flying over the top. Only for Axel to grab his legs, pulling them out from under him and dragging him under the bottom rope and tossing him into the security barricade, winding him momentarily. Seth lay there panting as he watched Dallas and Axel get schooled by Dean. A flash of movement flickered passed his line of sight. Miz was back in his corner and tags himself into the match, and Dean never saw. To busy tossing Axel over the top rope, Miz snuck up from behind to hit him with the Skull Crushing Finale. Seth was on his feet and under the bottom rope as the ref's hand came down for the 2 count, hurtling himself atop the Miz to break up the pinfall.

Dallas charged and Seth managed to sidestep him in time, tripping him up and sliding him out under the bottom rope only leaving him victim to another attack from the Miz. He fell to the matt hitting hard. Stunning him momentarily before dragging himself to his feet. He staggered about the ring and bumped into another body. Deans bright blues locked with his. "Time for plan B?" Dean panted, and Seth nodded. The pair charged at the rope, ricocheting off and propelling them forward into a double suicide dive through the middle rope straight into Dallas and Axel.

Seth lay gasping on the outside as he watched Dean chase after the Miz again, but he caught him with a DDT for another roll up. Dean managing to kick out. Dragging him to his feet he set Dean up for a second Skull Crushing Finale. Seth was climbing, reaching the top rope he leapt to the Miz just as Dean ducked planting his knee square in the Miz's jaw dazing him slightly, the perfect set up for Deans Dirty Deeds. I… 2… 3.

Deans music hit and the crowd erupted as he thrashed around in celebration, unable to control his joy.  _'The boys are back. Like nothing had ever changed.'_ Dean rounded on him a giant joyous smile across his sweaty red face laughing hard, he threw his arms around Seth overcome with the emotion of the moment. It took Seth a lot longer than it should have to register that Dean was hugging him. In the middle of that ring, for the whole world to see. They both pushed away from each other, but Dean came back high fiving him and shoulder bumping his chest "That's what I'm talking about! We never missed a god damn beat!" Completely oblivious to the embrace they shared. He was all fired up and riding that winners high hard. Seth thought he would try his luck. Grabbing Deans shoulder, he pulled him into a second hug. Wrapping his arms fully around his shoulders and pulling him close. Feeling the warmth of his embrace, god how he missed this. His shirt dampened with his sweat mixing with Seth's own rubbing up against his bare chest but Dean pulled back, a look of surprise on his face at what had just transpired.

Seth decided to take the plunge. Balling up his fist he extended it straight out in front of him. The official salute of solidarity, the official sign of the Shield. Dean looked at his hand and back up into Seth's eyes. He shook his head and left the ring. Leaving Seth hanging high and dry.

Maybe that was a push too far.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all thanks for all the lovely comments, likes kudos etc... I super appreciate all of them! And I also want to apologise for not getting the chapters out as quickly as I'd like... But never fear, I'm back with not 1 new chapter but 3! You lucky devils!  
> This chapter is solely focused on Seth, but don't worry Dean gets his turn too

**July 31st 2017  
Monday Night Raw**

Seth wandered the halls of the arena feeling on top of the world. He passed the usual faces with some exchanged pleasantries still on a high from the amazing match he had last week and the premise of regaining a long-lost friend. That hug alone meant more to Seth than the match itself, Dean overcome with the winners high forgetting there past for the briefest of moments. Passing a large table lined with fresh water bottles he helped himself to a tall clear bottle only to be instructed by a stagehand to keep quiet while the interview was being conducted.

He stood awkwardly by the drinks table trying not to make a sound as he observed the cameraman count down from 5 as Renee prepared herself. A wide smile on her face as she greeted the audience and 'Welcomed her guest at this time.' Dean sauntered into the camera view, slapping his lips together as he chewed a stick of gum. Seth watching from the small monitor set up nearby listening to Renee gush over how well he and Dean 'worked together last week' and 'how they never looked better.' And Seth had to admit, they did make one hell of a team.

"Are you guys getting back together?"

The million-dollar question that seemed to peaked Seth's interest. A warming sensation filled his chest as he watched the sincere smile creep across the lunatic's face, he mulled over the question before springing into a coherent ramble, in a way that only Dean could. However, he fell silent mid-sentence when he realised he was being watched. Unable to keep himself concealed in the shadows any longer he stepped forward. Wholeheartedly agreeing with everything the man had said, they did make an awesome team together and he couldn't help but interrupt, much to the chagrin of Dean "- fighting the same fight. It felt just like old times man." Seth smiled. However, Deans expression was hard to pinpoint. Half-lidded blue eyes eyed him warily as he pursed his lips. That was until Renee returned with a follow-up statement which Dean interrupted instantly.

"-Before you or anyone else gets there hopes up let's get one thing clear. I don't trust you." Those eyes narrowing questionably as if they were a direct line to his heart, making the muscle constrict under his scrutinising glare "And as much as everybody may want it and maybe even some small part of me wants it to-" Seth looked up wide eyes full of amazement,  _did he really just say-_  "I got burned by you once It's not going to happen again."

Turning on his heel Dean stormed off down the hall, stage hands and superstars dashing out of the way of the disgruntled lunatic. Seth felt his heart sink deep into his stomach. _'But I thought-'_

A soft comforting hand rested on his arm squeezing it lovingly. "Don't worry." Renee crooned, a reassuring apathetic smile crossed her small round face. "He'll come around," her eyes sparkling full of hope and wonderment, but sadly Seth was starting to wonder if he was fighting a lost cause.

… _:::::…_

He trudged solemnly towards the locker rooms, stroking down his bearded chin as his footsteps echoing the vast gangway, the same question skirting around his head.  _'What the hell have I got to do? What will it take?'_  This was almost a new sick form of torcher, he was mere fingertips away from getting Dean back in his life, only to have him ripped away again. Every time he took a step forward he felt like he was taking two steps back, with Dean throwing out new obstacles each and every time. Seth could do no more. Whatever Dean was going through all he could do is grin and bear it. He wanted to help, he really did, but how could he if the man wouldn't even let him in. He had given every chance, took every path to do the right thing… Other than buying him a 'Please forgive me puppy' Seth was rapidly running out of options.

Loud laugher reverberated off the walls bringing him out of his little self-pity episode. He sighed heavily as his eyes rounded on the tag champs, Sheamus and Cesaro. The light glinting off their shining silver tag team title belts as they stood leaning casually up against the wall. They watched Seth as he approached, the pair smiled with broadening interest, but there was nothing friendly about the gesture. The duo was snickering away like a couple of school kids, no doubt out of pure spite and mockery for Seth's benefit. Cesaro's smug grin cultivated as he locked eyes with the Architect stopping him in his tracks.

Seth rolled his eyes, crossing his arms impatiently as the pair advanced on him. They droned on about how they were the greatest team on Raw because they trusted each other, Seth rapidly losing interest in their little self-admiration speech. "-you and Dean," Cesaro continued his easy Swiss drawl sounding more menacing than inviting "you accomplished so much together, that's until -y'know- you stabbed him in the back" Seth snorted, amused by his comment. With a small shake of his head, it was nothing he hadn't heard or told himself before.

"Pretty sad, right?" Sheamus chimed in, his harsh Irish accent biting through the air, "he was your last chance at success. And now… you're all alone." He scoffed.

The fury boiled in Seth, bubbling away in the pit of his stomach at the harsh truth of his words. Yeah, he was alone, and so what?! He could handle it, he'd been alone for a long time. He didn't need these Eurotrash wannabes telling him what he already knew. "That's great you guys came to pick a fight huh? well then let's fight!" he spat louder and demanding, with a hint of desperation that he was unsure of, all he needed to do right now was rid himself of this pent-up anger "you two put your half brains together and figure out which one of you wants to fight me tonight"

"That would be me." Sheamus stepped forward, nose to nose with him. "You seem to be digging yourself a hole Rollins, funny thing about holes is when you're in one, you stop digging." He threatened before the champs backed down and walked proudly up the hallway.

Seth's chest rose and fell rapidly his jaw clenched so tightly it sent splintering pains through his teeth, his balled-up fists shook with rage. They were right, and Seth hated it.

"Are you just out to piss everyone off today?" Roman leaned against the wall opposite the locker room, back flush to the cold grey concrete wall. He had seen the whole thing. A smug grin arced his tanned face while his arms folded across his chest. "Because it seems to be working."

Now was not the time, a furious Seth barged passed planting his palm flat against the door. The slam of it echoed with a crack as it collided with the wall, thundering his way over the threshold and into the now empty locker room. "I'm sick of trying Ro! I'm fed up with everyone looking at me like I'm a piece of shit! I know I fucked up, I know I am that piece of shit but-"

"Breath Rollins," he said soothingly. Placing a hand on either of Seth's shoulders squeezing them lightly, his once amused smirk now transformed into a look of fond concern "It will be ok"

"Will it?" he snapped "I am making a fucking fool of myself in front of everyone chasing a god damn lost cause! I'm the laughing stock of the god damn locker room!"

"No one's laughing at you Seth."

"Well, they sure as hell ain't on my side." He flailed his arms around animatedly as he paced back and forth, the angry rant reaching its pinnacle, "I have tried Roman. I have tried everything to make things right with Dean and what do I get as thanks? Huh!? Being the butt of some Eurotrash joke?!" there was no stopping him now, his words tripping over themselves as if he was unable to contain them. "He robs me of my title, he dragged me through a hell in a cell, not to mention the brutal stiff matches the ambushes… He has done far worse shittier things to me than I would have ever done to him!" his emotions chopping and changing so rapidly Seth couldn't even keep up, spilling his heart and soul out to the only person who would listen. "I bet he even begged Daniel and Shane to draft him to Smackdown just so he didn't have to be near me." He drops down, not onto a bench but onto the hard carpeted floor, drawing his knees up to his chest hugging his arms around his legs he burying his face in his knees. "And then every now and again he gives me a glimmer of hope, makes me think … We friggin' hugged Roman…" when he lifts his head two small water marks stain his grey ring tights, "...In the middle of that damn ring, in front of the whole world. And it was like it meant nothing to him" he blinks away the tears wiping his face in the collar of his t-shirt "I dunno what else I can do" he mumbled.

Roman unfolded an empty chair in front of Seth. Placing it backwards he sat down, his large muscular forearms leaned on the backrest of the metal as he considered his friend. His chin resting on his folded arms "He knows your trying."

"Does he?" Seth scoffed the anger returning at his friend's ridiculous comment

"Maybe if you stop trying so hard, just relax a little. Be yourself, the 'ol' Davenport'... Maybe he'll come around"

Seth scoffed shaking his head, but maybe Roman was onto something. He had tried everything else, so what was left… nothing. "I'm so sick of all of this," he continued feeling calmer now, "one moment he acts like were buddies again and the next he can't stand the sight of me." Seth huffed, resting his head on the wooden bench behind him, staring up at the tiled ceiling. "I've tried and tried and now I'm at the point where…" Seth shook off that trail of thought, he wasn't ready to give up on him just yet. He smiled sadly to himself at the cruel irony of the whole situation. "The worst part of all this is I didn't start it this time, yet I'm the one being punished for it."

"Started what?" A cold panic flooded Seth. His eyes widened in the realisation of his own words.  _'Fuck.'_  "Seth?" Seth's head dropped forward considering Romans puzzled brow, his worry lines crinkling as he contemplated Seth's words. Flopping his head forward he groaned into his kneepads, thumping his head into the soft foam padding repeatedly.  _'Stupid Rollins. You and your big mouth!'_

There was a rattle of metal as Roman scooted his chair even closer "What's this about? Just tell me. It might help me figure out where he's coming from." His tone was quiet, concerned. This had been his bug bare for many months now and was finally on the precipice of knowing the truth. Rolling his head back he let out a tired sigh. Seeing Romans inquisitive raised eyebrow, dark eyes burning holes into Seth's he realised that maybe he was right. A problem shared is a problem halved. He felt a relieving upheaval when the thought crossed his mind of telling Roman the truth, the whole truth. It seemed silly the whole notion of Seth keeping it from him after all truly nothing happened that night. Nothing but a mixed bag of hurt feelings and blue balls. Besides, why should he keep this promise to Dean when the man can't even be civil towards him.  _He_ was the one who wanted to keep it a dirty secret like it was something so shameful, sinful. Seth was the innocent party in all of this. What was the point in hiding the truth when it was tearing their friendship apart?

He caved, told Roman everything and even though he swore that nothing happened between them that night Seth couldn't make eye contact with the Samoan. Ashamed of the truth he dares not speak, guilty at the feelings and thoughts that plagued him. "I  _may_ have accused him of wanting to cheat with me… and that he gets off on me being his dirty little secret." He finished finally, tugging at a loose threat in the tattered locker room carpet tile.

"What?" the dry retort came sending anxiety-ridden shivers across Seth's body, "Please tell me you're joking."

"I know it was dumb, I didn't mean it, not really. I just wanted to shut him up. I didn't think for a hot minute he'd take it so personally"

Roman hummed, trapped in silent thought as he tapped his large index finger over his heavily tattooed bicep. A shrinking feeling overcoming Seth as he wilted under his harsh scrutinizing stare. "You wanted something to happen, didn't you?" The comment sent a cold shiver across his lean body, he screwed his eyes shut and returned his forehead to his knees. Roman got it in one, he may have been the Braun of the Shield but Roman wasn't dumb by any stretch. He wanted it more than anything, the idea of being Dean's dirty secret.

"I did." He muttered into the fabric. "I would have jumped at it without a second thought." He raised his head, more proudly this time as he felt the weight rising from his shoulders, finally able to be free of his guilt. Looking Roman square in the eye he added, "but I don't know. He made it pretty clear he would never want me that way. It's a pretty big turn off in my book." he grunted a laugh at the flippantness of his own comment.

Roman gave a small nod. He didn't move or change his stance, like he was made of stone, his mouth a hard line to match his stare. "I believe you. But does he?" Seth's forehead came together in confusion as Roman continued. "Seems to me like he might be worried that you will do something to ruined him and Renee. Can't you see that?" It was like shining a new light on the whole situation, of course. How could Seth have been so god damn blind! "… You got to show him that you don't want him like that… Y- you don't want him like-"

"God no!" Seth interrupted him. "Not anymore. What even I felt for him died that night" Seth felt solemn at this thought, the only true strong romantic feelings he felt towards another man were gone. "But that doesn't mean I don't want him in my life. We were friends, good friends once… I just want _that_  back"

Romans gaze lingered on his own knees a small sad glint to his eye "I want that Dean back too." His hard-facial expression softened but took a downward trajectory, he looked so sad. "I'm worried about him Seth," Roman continued in barely a whisper "I'm not saying whatever happened between you two that night started this … but it really didn't help - You never saw him after the whole…  _'breakup'_. He was a wreck." Seth looked away from the man, a lump forming in his throat. They never really talked about what had happened in the weeks after his departure, Seth only getting snippets here and there, but hearing these words haunted him. "He would put on this front for the cameras and everyone around him… but I saw what he was like when those cameras were off, he went to a dark place man… but this time I'm on the outside looking in and I can't help him"

"Renee said the same thing the other week" Seth rested his chin atop his knee pads looking into the large sorrowful eyes of his best friend "What are we gonna do Uce?"

Roman shook his head, his voice barely a whisper "This is all my fault"

"Come on man, don't say that"

"It's true Seth. If I hadn't been so wrapped up in my own misdoings I would have seen it sooner. I could have helped him." Two large hands scrubbed at his face, Seth hated seeing Roman so beat down. Seth shifted his weight, dropping his knees to sit cross-legged as a plan formulated in the back of his mind. A plan that disguised itself as a memory, and he smiled. After all, he was the Architect.

"We can still help him. I got an idea."

…::::::…

1…2…3.

The sneak roll up worked. Seth couldn't believe that worked.

Too busy celebrating he missed the behind attack from Cesaro, clocking him and sending him straight to the mat. But it's going to take more than that to keep this man down. While Cesaro checked on his goofy haired tag partner Seth sprung to action. Leaping onto his back, laying lefts and rights into the back of Cesaro. But the two on one game was definitely in The Bars favour. Sheamus entered the fray now sending Seth down to the mat, boots from both men striking with every inch of his body. As Sheamus's foot collided with Seth's face again he lay looking up at the bright lights of the arena, the glare stinging and making them water. Cesaros smug smirk looming over, the lights casting an almost celestial glow around that big bald head. "Where's your buddy now, huh?" _'He wasn't coming. Why would he?'_ The onslaught continued as Seth lay defenceless in the ring, picking him up one more time to deliver their signature move White Noise. All the air vanished from his body as he lay there winded. The call of the crowd was all Seth could register in his hazed mind, but he was sure he had miss heard them, he was convinced they were chanting  _"We want Ambrose!_ " Did they not realise he wouldn't come?

He rolled on the mat coughing, spluttering as coloured dots filtered his eyeline. But his will, his determination was the only thing he had left. Crawling to his knees shooing off the referees that tried to help him he stared down The Bar as they left the ring.  _'Where you going? I'm still standing!'_ He wondered if they could read minds, the pair didn't even make it to the ramp before they turned back to finish the job. Forearms, boots collided with Seth again bruising his already battered body. Winded, reeling with pain he lay there and took it. Maybe this would be the end of him. When a flash of blue blurred passed his line of sight, the blue of denim jeans. ' _Dean?'_

He took down Sheamus first, spearing him to the ground, before making a move on Cesaro. Seth couldn't see much but he could certainly hear the grunts and cursing from Dean as he lay fists into The Bar. Seth lay under the bottom rope drifting in and out of consciousness, he wasn't sure what was going on right now, he was juts grateful someone came to help him. "Seth?" a voice, a familiar voice called to him through the thick haze of his battered mind. "You alright?" It was Dean. He was calling to him. "Come on you Swiss Bitch I ain't dead yet." Seth managed a slight smile, the thought of hard as nails Dean Ambrose picking a fight with a guy twice his size before his injuries overcame him and he completely passed out.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next couple chapters are going to be Dean heavy. This chapter has been split into 2 parts because it was so long when I finally finished it! It carry's on from Raw (the fall out after Seth's match)

**_Time can fly on by, everything can change._**  
**_Until the day we die, we'll always remain._**

**Blood Brothers – Luke Bryan**

**************  
Part 1  
**************

Dean sat on the wooden bench in the locker room examining the extent of his injuries, nothing physical he could see done to himself. However, his favourite t-shit didn't make it out alive, now it was more like a black rag that hung limply over his shoulder. So, taking on two guys much bigger than himself was not Dean's smartest move. In fact, it was downright stupid. But that was Seth's plan all along wasn't it? Goad Baldie and the Mohawk into a fight he knew he couldn't win, thus backing Dean into a corner whereby if he didn't come and save his stupid ass everyone would think _he_  was the asshole. He has always been good with plans _, 'Mr friggin' Architect.'_  Dean rasped that notion, making a long irritated  _*Pfft*_  sound as he rolled his neck. He grimaced as the pain shot down his spine and across his shoulder blades letting out a low grunt. Yep, that really was a stupid idea.

A figure loomed into his peripheral vision. Seth, stood tall over him, a white fluffy towel draped over his shoulder and that stupid hound dog look on his face. He was out cold in that ring earlier, totally KO'd at the hands of The Bar. And yet there he stood without a cut or bruise to show for it. As much as Dean didn't want to admit, and deep down hated himself for admitting it silently, he was relieved to see he was ok. "Hey." He began. Dean rolled his eyes and let out a low sigh, annoyed at his general existence. Trying to ignore the fact that he was shirtless too, hating that Seth looked so much better topless than he did.  _'Stupid cross fit Jesus'._  "I know you didn't want to come out there, so I just wanted to say thank you."

Dean silently sniggered as he rose to his feet. "I didn't come out there to help you. You won that match. You don't need my help." he stated matter-of-factly, trying to not make eye contact with him.

"Then why did you show up? Shamus and Cesaro were beating the hell out of me until you came out"

Dean stared slack-jawed, was this guy for real? Did he really think Dean was that stupid?! "Because your Mr Architect, always got a plan. You don't think I know exactly what your plan was?" He glared into those dark wide eyes, a look that read  _'busted.'_  "You put me in a position where if I didn't come out there I'd look like the bad guy."

Seth tried to hide his smirk by shaking his head and dropping his gaze to the floor, but Dean caught it.  _'Yeah, that's right. I'm on to you Rollins' "_ No man. You got it wrong… that's not-"

"Here's a little tip for next time." Dean interrupted "Try and pick a fight you know you can win, alright. Because you pull this crap again, I ain't coming anywhere near ya." Seth rose his head to argue his point, but Dean was quicker, "lemme guess. You would have done the same for me, right? The hell you would."

Dean stormed off towards the showers, swiping a towel off someone else's bag on route. He needed to cool down, in every sense of the word. Anger fuelled him as his bare feet slapped against the cold smooth floor. "And how would you know that?" Seth's voice echoed around the tiled room, "You've not put yourself in that situation"

"Yeah cuz I'm not a fucking idiot like you are," he retorted. Entering a large semi-private stall he turned on the water. "For someone who was supposed to be the brains of the Shield you can be pretty dumb at times." Wishing these stalls had doors, so he could at least slam one to emphasise his annoyance. But in the same thought, glad it wasn't just a room with open showers and a drain in the centre like it was in most places they worked.

As the shower spluttered and spat into life he held his hand under the flow, retracting it just as quickly as the freezing stream cascaded into his hand. Flicking his towel over the top of the privacy wall to hang in place he went ahead with unbuckling his belt. His hands hovered over his fastened button and fly, unsure whether to continue his undress. He knew Seth was there, sensing his presence like some kind of dork-dar. No doubt following him into the shower room hovering just at the entrance, not intruding in on his shower, but still there.

Dean didn't want to move. A breath held in his chest as if any sound or movement might cause a reaction. What was he so afraid of? They had seen each other showering before. A flood of heat travelled his body as he hastily shook away that thought and began to undress. He stepped under the flow, almost certain that Seth was indeed there. The warm water pouring over his face, chest, and all his sore aching muscles, squeezing out the arena generic body wash from the dispenser on the wall he began to scrub every inch of himself. A small cocky 'told you so' half smile tweaked his lips as Seth spoke. His soft voice echoing off the tiled surfaces with no sign of the usual Rollins bravado Dean was so used to. "I know shits messed up between us right now Dean… but I'm trying." He was trying alright, trying his patients! He found himself scrubbing harder, his nails digging into his flesh the longer he talked. "Let me make it up to you. Say thank you for saving my stupid ass. Beers, tonight?"

Dean paused washing, "I ain't going anywhere with you." He said trying to sound as disdainful as he could, but even he didn't truly believe himself. His voice almost mimicking Seth's in quietness.

"Bring Renee." He continued brightly, almost as if catching on to Deans shortcomings. "I'll throw in a plate of chicken wings too." Dean continued to scrub. The foamy bubbles lingering across his chest, realising there was only one place left he needed to clean. Refusing point blank to even touch himself there while Seth stood mere feet away from him. "Dean, I want us to get back to where we were before everything got out of control." He sounded so forlorn, could imagine the sad look in his eye. "She's part of your life man, I want to get to know her better." His jaw tensed at this notion. Did _he_ want Seth back in  _his_  life? "I - I miss you," his surprising confession came. Sending uncertain shivers down Deans spine "Shit, not like that…" Seth added instantly afterwards "I didn't mean it to sound so…"

"One beer," Dean replied, willing to say anything at this point just to get him to leave. Closing his eyes, he rose his head towards the steady stream, the water beating fiercely over his face. Trying to focus all his attention on the angry torrent of water, the feel, the sound, anything to drown out Seth's voice. Inhaling through his flaring nostrils and letting go of the breath slow and steady, his teeth aching under the pressure of his clenched jaw. "And a basket of chicken wings. You're buying." Seth didn't say a word, but his footsteps echoed as he left Dean to finish his shower in peace.

…::::::…::::::…::::::…

Renee pushed open the door to the chain branded bar, leading Dean by the hand he trailed behind obediently, even though he lagged and dragged his feet like a stroppy toddler. His ears were instantly abused with some loud upbeat pop-punk noise, his eyes burned at the sight of the garish orange and wooden décor of the bar. They were met with a lively bubbly waitress whose personality was as large as her 'assets'. Renee chatted with her briefly when Dean caught a glimpse of that cap that was always glued to his head. Seth sat in a booth talking to someone opposite him who was obscured by the seat back. He was about to sip from the beer bottle in his hand when they locked eyes. The rim of the bottle didn't even make it to his lips when he flashed Dean a row of pearly whites. Deans heart tumbled in his chest, his smile had always been enticing. Disconnecting there stare off to focus on Renee's blonde bob willing his heart to sort itself out as he was dragged right to him. Unable to shake the ' _this is a bad idea'_  feeling in his gut there was a new sensation joining in the anxiety party. A strange sense of Déjà vu. His booth was at the furthest end of the bar, lined up regimental order along the external wall of the building, the harsh red brickwork adding to the bars 'rustic' feel. Seth mouthed something to the other occupant of the booth and a head peered over the top of the seat. Dean froze in his step as he clocked Romans curious gaze. "That son of a- No way." Dean turned to leave but Renee's grip held on tighter.

He looked at his girlfriend. Her big wide brown eyes looking so familiar, her blonde bangs framing her perfectly round face. She offered him a sympathetic lopsided smile, the fluorescent lights above their heads glinting off her pink lip gloss. "They just want to talk" she coaxed, her thumb skirting over his knuckles in her held hand.

"You're in on this!" Dean gruffed in disbelief at the betrayal of the one person he thought he could trust.

She offered him a small shrug "We're worried 'bout you is all. Please, babe, don't be mad." She pulled herself closer to his arm, trapping it between her and his side, her free arm snaking its way up his in a comforting 'I'll be here with you' gesture. Dean was right all along, Seth did have a plan, just one he didn't see coming.

"Hey you two. Glad you could make it." Seth's nasally welcomed them. He slid out his seat offering the open space to the couple. That wide shit eater grin still plastered on his face which only seemed to irritate Dean more than anything. Renee dragged, literally dragged him this time to the booth. Feeling like he was being completely ganged up on, Dean was out of his depth. He could handle a beat down from The Swiss Miss and Lucky Charms any day but this made him uncomfortable. He approached the edge of their table examining the 4 beer bottles already pushed to the wall. Guess they already started without them.

"What is this, an intervention? Did you all write letters?" Dean mocked sarcastically, ignoring Renee's playful slap on his bare arm. His eyes scanned from one person to the next, finally landing on Romans. He stared sceptically at his beer bottle twirling the neck of the thing in his large hands. Renee ordered him to sit and like the honourable boyfriend he was, he complied. Sliding down the seat positioning himself in front of Roman. His eyes flicked up to look at him through dark lashes, his jaw set in its usual stoic nature, mouth a hard-thin line before returning his attention to his bottle. "I was promised a beer," Dean said not taking his eyes off the messy bun perched atop Romans head. His large bear paw sized hand slid a full bottle across the table to him, hidden in the line of empties. "and chicken wings" Dean added sipping from the bottle.

"I was just about to order some" Seth said cheerfully, that smile unfaltering. Dean wanted nothing more than to punch him in that pretty little mouth of his "…and another round of beers I think."

"Let me help," Renee said brightly. Dean flashing her a wide annoyed  _'for the love of god don't leave me!'_  look but she just smiled, her cheeks plumping out adorable as they always did which read  _'You'll be fine.'_ He watched her turn and follow Seth to the bar. A new feeling of dread shadowed over him, watching his girlfriend talking with his former love interest made him just as uneasy and a little sick to his stomach. At this point he wasn't sure what was worse, his sore aching body still reeling from The Bars beat down, watching Seth and Renee get all 'chummy,' or the heavy awkward silence that emanated between him and Roman. This was torcher.

"This wasn't my idea," Roman said finally causing Dean to haul his attention to the Samoan. "He seemed to think it worked so well last time, maybe it would work again." Dean remained silent, instead he took to studying the bottle of beer in front of him. It wasn't a brand he recognised, German maybe, but it tasted good. Taking another hearty swig from the brown bottle he thought about following Roman's statement with the old 'lightning doesn't strike twice' proverb, but thought better of it. As much as he hated to admit, he missed his big Samoan, and after the initial feeling of being thrown into the lion's den to fend for himself subsided, he was grateful for his alone time with the man. He and Roman rarely ever fell out, almost never. Sure, they would have squabbles like all brothers did, and they would always resolve it. Why should this be any different? Usually settling their differences with either some serious roughhousing or talking it out over a good beer and… chicken wings. Dean snorted a small laugh and shook his head  _'that crafty bastard.'_ This plan wasn't about he and Seth making amends… this was about him and Roman. Deans heart swelled in his chest, Seth orchestrated all of this just to get _them_  talking.

Roman began a clearly practised spiel snapping Dean out of his little train of thought. Telling him how sorry he was, how this was all his fault, if he hadn't been so wrapped up in his own shit he would have noticed it sooner… wait what?

"Noticed what?" Dean interrupted him. His first words shared with the big man since sitting in front of him. Roman looked taken aback, surprised by his sudden input.

"With… y'know whatever you're going through"

"What you talking about? I'm fine" Dean snapped getting defensive.

But Roman wasn't buying it. He never did. "Cut the crap Dean." He sighed exasperatedly

"What crap?! You're the one that started this!" Deans temper getting the better of him

"No." Roman shook his head slowly, forever keeping that cool calm composure. "This has been going on for months. Way before the shit between you and I started." Flicking his steely gaze down to the wooden surface of their table Dean knew that he had been caught out. "You can hide it from Renee, Seth, the whole fucking world. But I'm your brother, you can't hide it from me." Traveling all that time on the road together you pick up on a person's habits, their ticks, likes dislikes… it was nature of the beast. But what Dean and Roman shared was more than that. They shared and confided every aspect of their lives with one another. They were Blood Brothers. The night Seth left they made a silly childish pact, through thick and thin they would be there for one another. No girls, gold or anything would separate them. Forever and always bound together by the tragic loss of their 3rd brother.

His jaw clenched tightly as he considered Romans words, the rage that built up quickly deep within him melting away at the thought of the pact they had made. Flicking his blues up towards his friend and just as quickly back down to the table, he shook his head and sighed. "I'm handling it." He said, following it up with a deep drink of his bottled beer.

"Handling it?!" Roman asked in an angered guffaw "Beating yourself up about it? Picking fights with two guys bigger and stronger than yourself?! That's handling it?" Dean refused to meet his glance, his eyes purely fixed on the circular lip of his beer bottle, vaguely aware that Roman was leaning forward in an attempt to catch his eye. "If you carry on at this pace you are literally gonna burn yourself out. And then what? You're at home, sitting out on the sidelines with an injury. Alone." Deans jaw muscles clenched as he mulled over his words, Roman giving up on trying to catch Dean's attention and slinked out of sight. "You could be lucky," he continued. "You could be out for a few weeks, something minor, no biggie… or it could be worse." His voice turning malevolent and grave, the shift in tone surprisingly getting Deans attention. "You could be gone for months. Surgery, rehab, more surgery, more rehab, miss a Wrestlemania… just like Seth did." At his name Deans eyes trained on the tall athletically built figure at the bar as he happily chatted away with his girlfriend. "Or it could destroy your career, all because you won't talk about it. Because your  _'handling it.'_ "

There was no mistaking that extra punch Roman gave those last to words, and Dean hated it. His own speech coming back to haunt him. "I'm talking to you, aren't I?" he replied with a snarky tone. His eyes snapping to Romans, lips curling into a small sneer.

"Alright then. Talk." Roman pushed his bottle to the side, resting his knitted together fists on the table like an anchor-man about to deliver today's top story. Big brother mode in full activation. "What's this all about?"

Dean felt his body tremble, not sure if it was the rage he was trying to suppress or the anxiety that plagued him (or maybe even a bit of both). Grabbing the collar of his t-shirt, scrunching the fabric in his fist, trying vaguely to calm himself. "You really wanna know." His temper flaring slightly, anger at himself more than anything. Roman didn't look smug, that was never his style. Even knowing full well he had won this round. His eyes were soft, worried. A small lopsided sincere smile twitched the corner of his lips. "Fine." Dean slammed his bottle on the table and pulled out his wallet. Opening the small black leather square to find the zip compartment inside. Opening that…

The light glinting off the metal band inside, already sending dread like a cold icy draft across Deans entire body. He reached in and carefully plucked out a small, thin delicate diamond ring. Romans eyes widened, his gaze flicking from the stone that sat atop the platinum band to Deans own expression.

"Is that…"

"I was gonna ask her after Mania. But I bottled out. It's been in my wallet ever since." Dean felt the colour drain from his cheeks as he pocketed the engagement ring back into his wallet and stowed it away in his jeans.

"You got cold feet dude, that's normal. Marriage…" Roman shot a panicked glance over at the bar, Deans eyes following suit. Renee and Seth were involved in a deep conversation, not paying any concentration to the men at the table. "Marriage is a big step... there's no need to rush into it."

"It's not that Ro. I-" Dean couldn't look at him. Resting his jaw on his balled-up fist, lips and stubbled chin tickling the backs of his knuckles. "I need to know I'm making the right choice," his eyes unmistakably darted over to the pair at the bar. Renee taking charge as she always did, something Dean truly admired about the woman, ordering for them all as the barman tapped away at an electronic till. But his eyes lingered on Seth. He was all in black, a usual look for him, tight skinny jeans, the white soles of his Convers sneakers peeking out from under the hem of his pants leg. The tight-fitting t-shirt of a band Dean didn't know and that black and brave snapback cap. He looked more like an 18-year-old than 30 a something.

"… oh shit," the quite murmur came. Roman leaned in closer and in a similar hushed whispered asked. "Has it got something to do with the night you visited Seth?"

Dean's attention snapped back to his friend, who seemed to be mere inches away from his face "How do you- Did he!?"

Roman raised a hand to silence him, "He thought if I knew it might help this situation, help you. And fuck me he was right, again… Hate it when that happens." Roman's low chuckle rumbled in his chest, sitting back in his seat he sipped his beer again. A new-found anger welled up inside Dean. This time directed at that treacherous human being who was currently taking a selfie with his girlfriend. Why was he so surprised? Stabbing Dean in the back was always his favourite past time. "Ok… I want your side of this. From the top."

Even though he was ashamed that he had been found out, he felt oddly reassured that he could finally share his burden. Knowing full well that Roman wouldn't drop it until he got a full explanation anyway. Dean mashed his jaw tightly, inhaled deeply before delving into the story, recalling his side of events. "I wanted to make sure he was ok. Really, I did. I also wanted him to be the first to know. But…" Dean trailed off.

It was one of the main reasons for his trip and yet somehow it got lost in the visit. "Does he know about the ring?" Roman asked. Dean shook his head meeting his gaze briefly "Why didn't you tell him?"

Dean pondered this thought for a moment. But he honestly didn't know, all he could do was offer a small shrug of indifference. Dean had tried denying it many times to himself, but that night changed his mindset. Everything he had planned: the proposal, the trip down to the strip, getting married in a small chapel all disappeared in a puff of smoke when he laid eyes on that man. "Can seeing someone you were once so attached to be enough to change your opinion on marriage?"

The question took Roman by complete surprise. Pausing mid swig of his beer, his brow furrowing behind the stem of the bottle which was still held to his as lips chocolate eyes fixed on Dean. He placed the bottle back on the table abandoning his thirst but not removing his hand. "I guess so. I mean it's logical, especially if there's unresolved crap between the two parties."

"He tried to tell me that he still loved me..."

"And there's your unresolved crap," Roman said lightheartedly finally taking that swig of beer. "Do you still love him?" And there it was… the L word. Dean felt his throat close up, unable to speak. His feelings for Renee wasn't even worth questioning, he loved and worshipped the ground that gal walked on, everyone could see that. But his feelings, his history with Seth was so much more complicated. Was it possible to have these feelings for two people, let alone two people of the opposite sex?

All Dean could do was muster a measly shake of the head. "I just don't wanna hurt him." Which was a true statement. Dean really didn't want to hurt him, and in return, Dean didn't want to be hurt either… not again. That night was meant to cement his future, his feelings for the man. But he came away from it confused, more troubled than when he started. Opening a can of worms that Dean had so desperately tried to cram shut. Every word Seth spoke that night had been true. Can't be called a liar if someone doesn't pick you up on it. That night Dean was very much the liar.

Romans features changed dramatically, a wide smile plucking the corners of his lips. "Maybe you just need to see that he's moved on too. That might help ease your concerns."

' _Moved on… already?'_  Dean stared, puzzled by Romans statement. "He's got a boyfriend?"

Roman rolled his eyes and with a light-hearted chuckle added. "Not exactly."

"Here we are." Renee's sweet voice called over the table placing a large pitcher of beer in front of them along with 4 tall glasses. "No jokes about my foamy jugs thank you very much," she pointed an accusing finger in Deans direction. And just like that, Dean had forgotten the original purpose of why they were here. To reconcile his differences with Roman. And somehow (like it always did between two old friends) the conversation took a dramatic turn. But Dean felt good, better than good. The best he felt in months, he finally had someone to talk to about all this crap. He looked to Roman who offered him a kind smile behind the rim of his beer bottle. Feeling like no time had passed, no miss words were ever said. They were back, just like that. Renee scooted into the booth sitting next to her boyfriend, there shoulders bumping together as she secretly took his hand under the table and gave it a light squeeze. Meeting his gaze with a smile that lit up her whole face, those plump cheeks, scrunched up nose and dazzling eyes made Dean fall for her all over again. He really was lucky to have a woman like that in his life.

"Hope you kids are hungry." Seth returned with an enormous platter of food full of everything and anything. Garlic bread, ribs, onion rings, chips, was just the stuff Dean recognised and of course chicken wings. "Dig in" Seth offered retrieving a wad of napkins out of his back pocket. Everyone dived into the platter. All, except Dean. He couldn't help but watch in utter amazement at Seth and Renee conversing with one another as they ate like  _they_  were old friends. A bizarre scene to him. He looked to Roman who had noticed this too. They shared a knowing glance and a small snicker crossed the Samoans lip, Dean reading his mind perfectly.  ** _"When your ex meets your new lover,"_  **and kicked him playfully under the table joining in with his amusement, feeling a strange sense of calm that he could indeed see the funny side.


	7. Chapter 7

_**I only want to be with you, feeling like I matter too. I  
f I hadn't blown the whole thing years ago I might not be alone. ** _   
_**Tomorrow we can drive around this town, and let the cops chase us around,**_  
__**The past is gone but something might be found to take its place... Hey jealousy.**

**Hey Jealousy – Bowling for Soup**

**************  
Part 2  
**************

"How you getting to the show tomorrow?" Roman asked, finishing another pork ribs and wiping his barbeque stained fingers on a crisp paper napkin. The question was aimed at Dean, but with his mouth full of spicy buffalo style chicken wing he couldn't answer.

"He's driving me to the airport," Renee announced. "Then driving himself to the show." She said leaning across and wiping a small drip of sauce of his cheek with her napkin.

"Ride with us," Roman said nonchalantly as he helped himself to another. Dean paused mid-chew. Staring at the top of Romans head incredulously watching him devour yet another rib before his gaze naturally floated across to Seth. His cheeks full of food resembling a greedy hamster, barbeque sauce smeared around his lips dripping into his beard. Their eyes met across the table as they both shared the same uncertain look.

"What?! I miss out on a Shield road trip?! Uncool guys." Renee groaned as she sunk back into her seat flopping her arms across her chest and folding them tightly "seriously uncool"

Roman passed a significant sideward glance at Dean. What was he playing at? "We got the room. We can pick you up at the airport, right?" he asked now addressing Seth, his expression still screaming 'rabbit in headlights' as his wide hazel browns flicked to Roman.

" _-um-_ Yeah," he said between bites as he started to chew. "if  _-y'know-_  you want to." Seth swallowed as he considered Deans stare a moment longer. "No pressure."

Dean wasn't sure, he could see that Roman was definitely up to something, but Dean had been so wrong about his suspicions all day, who knows what was going on. The table resumed eating when Dean didn't answer, this causing Roman to pipe up again. "Remember when we drove through Cleveland and we stopped at the Cabbage Patch factory?" A malevolent smile twisted Deans features, flashing his teeth at Roman at the memory. He had completely forgotten about that trip. A small chuckle escaped through his parted lips peaking Renee's interest, wanting to know more especially as it was followed by a nasally groan and a  _'come on man, don't tell her…'_ from Seth. Who flopped back in his seat, a look of disappointment and embarrassment crossing his face as Roman began the tale.

"I promised Jo I would buy her a Cabbage Patch doll from the 'baby hospital' when we drove past. Little did we know somebody was terrified of them."

"I'm not terrified of them" Seth defended "they just creep me out" he fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat, pulling his t-shirt up and over his nose as he sulked further down into the faux leather.

"So I get Jo this doll, fat little squishy thing that wouldn't hurt a fly. But Rockstar over here wouldn't even look at the bag it was stored in. Flash forward. We get to the motel the night. And this place is a dump-"

"Like horror movie levels of a dump" Dean adds, Renee's bright sparkling eyes lighting up as they flash his way, "and I make a joke about how it's like this film I saw once, where all these old toys were left abandoned at the motel and they come to life and started killin' people... He begged us to keep the doll locked in the car overnight." Renee giggled loudly slapping his arm playfully, Dean feeling more relaxed sunk back into his seat chuckling at the happy memory, his chest rumbling in the silent laughter as he flicked a look over at Seth. He was staring at the table, arms folded across his chest and shirt still pulled up to his nose. Brooding like the overgrown teenager he was. But the slight puckering of his cheeks showed that he was at least smiling inside that shirt.

"Seth's first mistake. Was falling asleep before us" Roman continued, passing a look at Dean who shrugged sipping from his beer glass. "Your boy ova' here crept outside, got the doll, put the thing on Seth's pillow while he slept."

"He screamed so loudly the next morning, scared the fucking shit out of me. Woke the whole place up. Now  _that_  was a wakeup call."

"I had nightmares for weeks" Seth complained reaching forward for his own beer. "You guys are ass holes." Roman chuckles throwing a large arm around Seth and pulling him in for an awkward one-armed hug, rubbing his knuckles across the younger man's head dislodging his precious cap. The beer from Seth's glass slopping over the sides and onto the table. There was no animosity from Seth as he laughed pushing Roman away, a brilliant smile creasing his youthful face. At least he could laugh about it now, at the time he refused to talk to them for days afterwards. It was a happier time that seemed so long ago. They were just 3 brothers, travelling this vast land together, doing the job they loved. Maybe they could get that back. Maybe.

Dean passed a genuine smile to Renee as he draped an arm around her shoulder pulling her in close as Roman did, but instead of giving Renee a noogie he kissed the top of her blonde locks. She snuggled into him as Roman began another tale of the road, this time trying to find one that embarrassed Dean. As he looked up at the wounded brown eyes that gawked at him from across the table he remembered why they could never have that back. Seth had been staring at them. All traces of amusement drained from his face but replaced with a forced smile as Deans blues collided with his. Nowhere near as powerful gesture as it had been seconds ago, and he wondered if it was for his benefit. He turned his attention quickly to the slowly dwindling platter of food and picked at a few chips and salsa dip. This is why it could never be the same, after everything that's happened maybe there was just too much between them.

Seth shifted in his seat. Fishing out his cell phone from his pocket he stared at the device frantically tapping away at the screen. At least some things never change, he was glued to that thing back then too. But his reaction kept Deans attention on him with cresting curiosity. A mischievous smirk crossed his bearded lips as he feverishly drummed away at the illuminated screen. A text from this mysterious love interest? Roman had caught on too, leaning across to see what Seth was doing. He rolled his eyes and groaned loudly.

"Really. Tinder, the dinner table?" Seth practically jumped out of his skin. Pinning his phone defensively to his chest, his cheeks developing a pink hue as he realised he was the centre of their attention.

"Tinder? What's a Tinder?" Dean asked passing a curious look from Roman to Seth, locking with his embarrassed glance he shied away a little too quickly, which only heightened Deans interest.

"You really don't know?" Renee asked brightly as Dean shook his head. She smiled in amusement, resting her elbow on the edge of the table she lay her cheek into her upturned palm, shaking her head in disbelief studying her man "I'm not sure whether to be flattered or disgusted. It's a dating app sweetie. We really do need to get you in the 21st Century"

"Dating app" Roman scoffed with a chuckle "Not the way Seth uses it - It's a hook-up app" he added meeting Dean puzzled expression.

"No it's not" Seth groaned, annoyed at Romans comment by rolling his eyes, this was clearly an argument the pair had often.

"Oh really. How many dates have you been on?"

Seth shrugged "a few." His eyes looked back to the screen, the backlight illuminating his features.

"And how many of them didn't involve in you hooking up afterwards?" Seth paused mid tap to look out the corner of his eye at Roman. That mischievous grin was back, tugging at his mouth as his tongue darted across his bottom lip. "I rest my case. Hook-up app." Roman said sipping from his beer glass with his smug self-assured grin

"Seth!" Renee squeaked, "didn't know you were such a playa!"

"I can't help it if I'm irresistible, it's not like I've had any luck in relationships anyway. Haven't had a decent one in years." The last part of the sentence was drowned out by Romans complaining but Dean caught it. He tried to remember the last boyfriend Seth had. He was pretty sure it was some skinny white country boy who trained with them in FCW. He vaguely remembered him floating around, sharing the same apartment as Seth but disappearing shortly before Seth got called up to NXT. He rarely talked about seeing anyone when they were in the Shield, unlike Dean, who in his earlier years would sleep with practically anything that walked on two legs and had a pulse. He was proud to tell his brothers of his promiscuous adventures. Receiving the same disgraced treatment from Roman as he gave Seth right now. The ex that leaked Seth's nudes Dean had never met but was pretty sure there wasn't anyone since him, and that was over 2 years ago… had Seth really not been with anyone else since then?

"Can I Play?" Renee asked eagerly

Seth scoffed, "it's not a game Renee," he said cocking an eyebrow at her over the top of his phone

She beamed, still leaning her elbows on the table, her chin now resting on her balled up fists "I play it with the Glam girls all the time. I pick the best guys… Don't I" she looked at Dean, nudging him with her elbow and flashing him a wink. He passed a sneaky bashful smile to Roman and Seth before hiding behind his beer, knocking back a large gulp. She extended her hand to Seth who sighed.

"Alright, knock yourself out." Seth begrudgingly handed his phone to her, Renee snapping it up a little too eagerly for Dean's liking "Find me a cute one."

"Oh, I will do better than that. I only look for Mr Right material." Holding the phone at elbows length she began to swipe left and right at various pictures way to quickly for Dean to comprehend. With the occasional comment of "No. No. Oh he's nice. No,  _-blugh-_  awful shirt. No, Too much teeth." Dean watched interestedly over her shoulder, from what he could tell you swiped right if you liked the look of someone and left if you didn't. Dean marvelled at the app, dating in its shallowest form… where was this when he was a young single 20 something?

"Cute" Dean muttered as she swiped onto a handsome dark brunet who looked like he had just escaped from an Abercrombie Fitch billboard. Matty 29, wore a white button-down shirt with a scenic mountain array behind him. He smiled brightly at them, a russet coloured cocker spaniel sitting on his lap. Suddenly aware of the entire tables attention on him, he felt his cheeks warming, he had been talking about the guy but added quickly "the-the dog." As he passed glance to each one of his former Shield brothers.

"That dog is pretty cute," Renee added, sliding through more of his pictures. One with him at a party, red cup in hand rosy-cheeked and clearly very drunk. Another with the same dog at a park, Matty 29, holding the tennis ball high in the air as the dog jumped for it. The third, him lying on a sun lounger on a sandy white beach, a pair of dark shade covering his eyes, bright pink swim shorts and of course, shirtless. A similar build and muscle ratio to Seth but with abs that would have made Finn Balor jealous. He was hot. "He gets a like from us."

"You can't just like him because he's got a cute dog" Seth whined but his plea fell on deaf ears. As soon as Renee swiped right a notification popped up filling the screen  ** _'You have a Match.'_**

"Ha! Queen Ney strikes again. Got you a match with cute dog dad." She presented the phone extending her arm to full length, holding the screen inches away from Seth's nose. "Just call me your fairy godmother of love"

"Would that make Davenport Tinderlla?" Dean snickered, sipping casually from his beer glass catching Seth's jovial stare from over the top of his phone.

Roman guffawed "Tinderella. Oh man, that's it from now on. I dub thee Tinderella" Roman waved a clean napkin at Seth as if he was knighting his new nickname "It's getting close to midnight. Your gonna to turn into a horney pumpkin?"

"He might leave his glass condom on the staircase for his price to find. So romantic" Renee added. They both fell about laughing but Seth was too engrossed in his phone to even acknowledge their jibes. No doubt typing out a message to Matty, 29. As Renee and Roman continued to discuss glass condoms and how ineffective they would surely be (and quite possibly dangerous) Dean couldn't take his eyes off Seth. He was transfixed by the man who was equally transfixed to his device. His perfect smile broadening at every notification  _*ding*._  One in particular seemed to bring the man to life. His eyes widened, trapping his tongue in between his teeth. His thumbs skated across his screen quickly obviously replying to a message. Dean sipped his beer realising it was finally empty, the pitcher was too. The platter that once towered with mouth-watering food now looked like a bone graveyard. Seth drank from his glass, nearly choking on his beer, staring eagle-eyed at the screen as another notification  _*ding*_ came from his phone.

"What?" Dean asked intrigued by his reaction. He slammed the glass to the table and pinned the device to his chest as Roman and Renee halted their conversation, that pink hue returning to his cheeks along with that mischievous grin that made Dean soften instantly.

"Has he messaged you?" Renee asked

"Oh yeah" Seth chuckled, a deep low dirty rumble as he moved his phone back to elbows length. "Let's just say Dog Dad is looking for someone to play _fetch_  with." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at the word, concluding it with his trademark cackle. Seth smiled like he was happy right to his soul like there is no part in him where sadness dwelled. All because some Matty, 29, wanted to suck his dick. He wasn't  _that_  good looking. He was too clean cut, too blue collar, he would take one look at Seth, and turn him away.

"Hook-up app," Roman said quietly in a sing-song tone, just loud enough for Dean to hear. As if punctuating their earlier conversation of  ** _"Not exactly."_**  Something twisted deep within Dean's gut, like a jockey pulling on the horses' reigns, a tense uncomfortable feeling that he couldn't shake, a feeling that somehow overshadowed all the past they once shared.

"Renee, you picked a good one." Seth's grin unfaltering as he continued to message Matty,29.

She wiggled proudly in her seat. "Thank you. But I can't take all the credit. Dean liked his dog" she snickered nudging him playfully.

"It was a cute dog" Dean mumbled as Renee patted his thigh lovingly.  _'A dog that Blue could take down in a fight any day.'_

"Oh." Seth's face fell as another notification  _*ding*_ came from the small rectangle "he's only in town for tonight." This lifted Deans spirit somewhat, maybe now he'll pay attention to the people around him.

"So are you" Renee added as if it was obvious. Seth looked at her like she was crazy, but she just smiled like she always did. Even if the world came to an end Renee would still be smiling about it. "Out of everyone at this table right now. You are the most likely one to get laid tonight. Sorry puddin'" she gave Deans thigh a slight squeeze.

Dean looked from the top of her perfectly manicured hand across to Roman. He laughed silently, his shoulders shuddering with the amusement, a wide smile stretching from ear to ear. "That makes two of us," he muttered as he relaxed back into the seat. "Seth can take this one for the team." Wait? Was he serious! Was he not going to say something, put a stop to this?! Roman shook his head as if he couldn't believe what he was about to say. That smile not fading as if he was just amused by the whole thing. "Go. Who are we to stand in the way of your happy fun time with a total stranger? Just be ready to leave when I call you in the morning."

There was a scramble of activity at the end of the table, but Dean couldn't look away, he was too busy glaring in disbelief at Roman, how could he let him do this? A strange surge of betrayal coming over him.

"How do I look?" Seth asked. Dean finally looked at him. He looked great, no doubt. Standing at the end of the table with a massive grin, arms outstretched like he was the second coming,  _'no doubt he probably would be later.'_

Renee hummed as she scrutinised him "Lose the cap." The order was received Seth ripped the snap back from his head and tossed it in her direction, Renee catching it with one hand. He ripped out his hair tie smoothing and moulding his hair into a much neater bun. She rummaged in her purse and offered him a stick of gum which he accepted. What was this? Had everybody lost their minds?

"Don't do anything I wouldn't" Roman said finishing the rest of his beer still looking amused.

"If I followed your rules I'd never have any fun. Night guys." Seth beamed before practically sprinting out the door and disappearing into the night.

What. Just. Happened? Was this what nowadays booty calls consisted of? Why were Roman and Renee so ok with this? Had Dean missed the memo about if Seth runs off to have sex with complete strangers it was totally ok?

"Well, it's getting late. I've got to be up early tomoro- today" Renee said glancing down at her own phone realizing the time. She placed Seth's snapback atop Deans head. It was still warm and a perfect fit. She excused herself as headed to the bathroom.

"See. He's ok." Roman said when Renee was out of earshot.

"Having sex with complete and utter strangers, that's ok?"

Romans eyebrows shot skywards and let out a snort "Really? This coming from you? Dean, you had a new partner every other week back in the day. He's just blowing off steam."

"Yeah… and Matty 29 probably."

Roman chuckled tossing a paper napkin at him "I don't need that mental image... So, road trip tomorrow?"

Dean shrugged, why not, not like shit could get any worse. Maybe if they shared the confinements of a car Seth would have to acknowledge him. He spent the whole night talking to Renee, Roman, even staring at his phone, and now he was off banging some dude he had never met. Dean felt like he didn't matter to Seth anymore. Unsure if it was a blessing or a curse.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *blows the dust off this little fic* geez… didn't realize it had been so long since I updated! Sorry Ambrollins fans! But here I am xD with a cluster of new chapters for you cheeky monkeys. This is my first published attempt at half smut (spoilers!) I hope you Enjoy x

**_What a wicked game you played to make me feel this way_**  
**_What a wicked thing to do to let me dream of you_**  
**_What a wicked thing to say you never felt this way_**

**Wicked Game – Chris Isacc**

* * *

 

Dean sighed heavily as he dug his shoulders deeper into the mattress trying to get comfy. But it was no use, he was staying awake no matter how many sheep he counted. This seemed to be a regular occurrence lately, his mind running overtime unable to completely shut down. So, he'd just lie there, in the dark, watching the shadows. Normally, this would be the opportune time to sneak out for a quick cigarette. Two years he had managed to stay smoke-free, but recently those little white sticks seemed to be his only escape. Helping him think straight, the nicotine rush feeling like an old friend.

He eyed his leather jacket, draped across the bucket armchair, knowing that the tantalizing box was housed safely away in the inside pocket.  _'One smoke wouldn't hurt right now, be out and back in no time.'_ Renee huffed in her sleep, like she could hear his thoughts and disagreed with his plan. She, right now, was the only thing stopping him. Renee had no idea about his little-rejuvenated habit, only smoking at night when she wasn't traveling with him. He always felt a sense of guilt like he was betraying her, after all, she had been the one to encourage him to stop in the first place. If she woke up while he was gone, questions would be asked.

Feeling agitated, needing to take his mind off those sticks. His arm rose to the nightstand, feeling along the wooden surface for his phone. The fabric rim of Seth's snapback grazed his fingertips pausing his search, his wandering restless mind taking its usual course. Thinking about him was a regular occurrence during his sleepless nights, no matter how hard he tried to concentrate on anything else.  _'Why was he doing this, this behavior isn't like him.'_  Seth was not the kind of guy to be flitting from one lover to the next for a quick desperate fuck. He was the sentimental settling down type. But then again, that had been Dean's life once upon a time too. Now  _he_  was the sentimental settle down guy.

The prospect of proposing should fill anybody with excitement but for Dean, it was almost the opposite. He loved Renee to death, but the marriage wasn't for everyone. The thought of committing his life entirely to someone until 'death did they part' filled Dean with all kinds of anxiety. They lived together, they had a dog … this was the next step, so why did it feel so wrong? Why would seeing Seth question his choice? He wasn't sure if he was doing this because he wanted to or because it was what was expected of him?

His thoughts traveled to that night, where he would tell Seth about his proposal. That sensation again gurgling away in Dean's stomach, that same stupid feeling he got every time he thought about telling him. Like nervous butterflies escaping his stomach and traveling across his entire body. That night played out in so many different ways in Deans head, some a little closer to the truth and others so farfetched that kink.com would be on the phone to him for the copyrights. Never would he have imagined that just seeing the man would make him question everything.

Padding his hand further across the surface he finally came across the device, snatching it up and bringing it to his face. The bright backlight burned his eyes forcing him to screw his eyes shut. Peaking a fraction through his lashes. 2.25am. returning his phone he continued to stare at the ceiling closing his eyes again in the hopes that he would fall asleep this time.  _'Where is he? Did he say he was going back to his hotel?'_  He sighed impatiently rolling over onto his side to stare at the nightstand. ' _I'm sure he'd be safe when doing this, right? He's not an idiot.'_ His shoulder digging deep into the mattress screwing his eyes shut even tighter. ' _Wonder if he's a top or bottom…'_ Deans eyes flew open. And there it was, coming full circle, like it always did. Trying to rid his mind of the thought he shuffled in the bed, pulling the sheets up to his ears, as if trying to block out the sound of his own mind.  _'What if Seth was on top of you. Don't lie to yourself, you know you'd be the bottom.'_ Dean grumbled tossing aggressively, flipping himself a full 180 degrees now staring at the back of Renee's head. _'His hands roaming your body, touching you in ways Renee never would. His rock hard cock in your…'_

"Babe?" Renee rolled over to face him, half-lidded weary eyes considered him. "you ok?"

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you." He whispered guiltily, as a thin slender arm draped its self over him. Grateful for the darkness hiding his flushed cheeks.

"Can't sleep again?" Sighing she shuffled bringing herself closer, her warm body contacting his. He wrapped protective arms around her kissing the top of her head. Angling his body away just enough to hide his half-mast that sprung up like an RKO from outta nowhere. "Maybe we should take a vacation," she yawned into his chest. "You've been working none stop recently, all this travel has got to be messing with your body clock." She said sleepily.

"Yeah," Dean muttered unconvincingly. It didn't take long for Renee to fall back asleep leaving Dean alone again with his wandering mind. Allowing it, this time, to take its usual course of action.

…:::::…:::::…:::::…:::::…:::::…:::::…

Pushing his hotel room door open, he was relieved to see his bag still sitting where he left it. Dumped, on the end of the bed after the show, the bed its self still made up, untouched. That was until Seth flopped backward on it, staring up at the ceiling. Back in solitude. The night had started out promising enough. The guy was hot, but when it came to the action he was all talk. Another lackluster one-night stand. He groaned as he covered his eyes with his forearm as that usual feeling of emptiness flooded his every pore. This wasn't who he was, the one-night stand kind of guy. He just wanted someone, anyone.

" ** _The old Smash and Dash."_**  Dean's words echoed in his head along with that award-winning smile. The stories he relayed to them his adventures of picking up chicks, Seth enthralled with each and every tale. Wondering how anyone could go about that lifestyle, a different lover in every city. Now Seth was living it. As crude as his  _'friends'_ words where at the time, he had been right, it was the best way to handle it. Leave before they wake up, quite happy to never see them again,  ** _"it's just easier."_**  As tiredness overcame him he looked to his phone, 2.25am. If he was lucky he'd get a few hours' sleep before Roman was banging on his door at 8. With that in mind, he silently undressed, throwing his clothes into a crumpled heap on the ground next to him before sliding under the cool bed covers and letting sleep overtake him.

…::::::…

Seth's eyes fluttered closed as he let the sensations overcome him. Blunt fingernails traced down every ridge of his muscular bare torso, tussling the shadow of chest hair that nestled comfortably in between his pecks. Licking his lips, he could still taste the whisky on them. Seth didn't care much for the spirit, but from him it tasted so good. Strong hands continued to explore, moving from his upper to his lower body. A hand running over each thigh, each knee. A light kiss pressed to the right one, "Don't you give up on me, again." A small happy snicker escaped Seth's parted lips. Happy. Seth was most certainly happy, the happiest he had been in a long time. Those large gentle hands encouraged Seth's legs to open, his eyes fluttering open at the same time. Craning his neck to watch as the weight on the bed shifted as he re-positioned himself in between Seth's solid thighs. A position he wasn't used to but more than happy to obey. He loomed over, studying Seth's body like he was on display at an art gallery. His breathing, calm and steady, like he had done this a thousand times before. Slowly, he unbuttoned Seth's jeans. His breath catching in his throat as the fly lowered and his erection sprang free, still trapped behind the cotton wall of his boxer briefs. He hums in appreciation as hands continued to trail his body, never once touching the tenting fabric, the arousal twitched with anticipation, begging for contact. Dark lust filled eyes locked with Seth's as he moved in closer. The whiskey still strong on his breath.

"Your fuckin' beautiful."

His rough stubbled chin grazing Seth's bare shoulder he idly trailed kisses down his lover's neck, leaving a path of goose bumps in its wake as they found each other's lips again. Aggressive and hungry. Their tongues playfully caressing, coating Seth's with the spirit of Jack again, while robust hands ran through Seth's dark hair as their passion heated. He was one hell of a kisser. Pulling away suddenly he left Seth breathless, wanting more. But he didn't have to wait long. A hand darted down, delving deep into Seth's boxer briefs causing a small gasp of surprise. A mischievous sparkle glinted in cerulean eyes matching the small chuckle that rumbled in his chest. A impish half grin that made those dimples pop. Seth smiled through half-lidded eyes pulling him back in for a kiss.  _At last_. Running hands through those russet waves, not wanting him to ever stop. His strokes were slow, deliberate, teasing. And he loved every god damn second. Purposely moaning into the kiss to show his appreciation, feeling even hotter when he received a similar sound from the other in return, like a primitive mating call. The pleasurable friction stopped at the same time the kiss did. Seth groaned in complaint but once again was short lived. Surprise overtook him as his jeans and boxers were ripped from his hips and his swollen throbbing cock taken whole by his mouth. Seth rolled his head back letting out a long low groan. With a breathless moan he grabbed a fist full of those brown curls as he bobbed up and down faster, faster until... "Dean!" –

"You look tired." Romans voice caught him off guard. He fidgeted nervously in the passenger seat as he was drawn sharply out of his thoughts. "Get much sleep last night?" He asked knowingly. His attention fixed the road ahead, the bright midmorning sun casting a glare across the windscreen, highlighting the small smirk spanning across the Samoans lips. Seth mumbled something about being fine, shielding his face away, hiding the inevitable prickling pink hue that was warming his cheeks (wishing he had never given Renee his snapback) and forcefully ceasing the bounce of his anxious knee. But truthfully, he was far from 'fine.' That dream was all he could think about. From the moment it had awoke him to right now. The dream itself had been nothing unusual, it wasn't the first time he was woken by such a vivid sex dream that he needed to 'take care' of himself after. But a vivid sex dream about Dean… that was a blast from the past. Seth felt that warming sensation fill his body again as he recalled how real it had all felt, every touch, whisper. How he wished his body and mind would stop betraying him, just to behave for one day! Why did he agree to ride with them today?!

Seth rubbed his tired eyes and stifled a yawn as Roman drove passed the exit sign for the airport. Pulling onto the slip road, heading to the 'pickup/drop off' bay outside the airport. Pulling into the long line of traffic, it crawled at snail's pace to the airport entrance. The huge white steel and glass building growing larger as it crept in to view. There was the usual flurry of activity that came with airports, business people, vacationers entering and leaving the large building. Men in bright high visibility jackets guiding the traffic. Seth swallowed hard. Out of all the people, hurrying like mini-whirlwinds, he managed to pick out the calmest guy in the place.

Dean stood leaning next to the large welcome sign at the glass-fronted entrance, duffle bag at his feet and backpack pressed up against the glass exterior. He drew his hand to his mouth, a thin white stick placed between his fingers.  _'Is that a cigarette?'_ "I thought he quit smoking."

"He did," Roman muttered tersely passing Seth an exasperated glance from the corner of his eye, getting the feeling that this was a topic of contention between the two.

He gave a single waved and courteous half smile as he caught sight of Roman's rental. Seth instantly recognized the familiar black cargo pants he wore. Throwing him back to their Shield days, which complimented his surprisingly tight fitting pale grey t-shirt nicely, exaggerating his slim muscular frame. His wavy messy hair was sticking out from under that dark green beanie and his beard was unkempt as ever, that unshaven copper ruggedness reminding Seth of a lumberjack coming straight from the woods rather than a world-famous sports star. And that cigarette. Seth had always despised his habit, but standing there puffing on that cancer stick, that 'bad boy' look, had always been Seth's weakness. He caught himself ogling him longer than he should have, reminding himself to put his eyes back inside his skull. He tried to look busy, opening his backpack and rummaging around inside, pretending to look for something.

"Get in loser!" Roman called over Seth as he rolled down the passenger window. Seth peaked up at him from the backpack at his feet. Dean moved towards the car, flicking the stub of his cigarette to the pavement, his crotch in eye line with Seth  _'for fuck sake!'_

"Who you callin' a loser? Loser!"

Seth froze as the rear passenger door behind him creaked open and Dean slid in. Hit instantly by the smell of smoke but another unusual musky scent mixed with it  _'Is that cologne? Smells good'_. Roman signaled and pulled out into the steady thrall of traffic. The pair shared their usual small talk while Seth practiced his steady breathing, forcing his mind to focus on anything else other than the dream about the man that sitting behind him.

"Oh shit, almost forgot," Dean muttered followed by an unzipping of a bag. Something soft nudged Seth's shoulder, "Yours I believe." His hand waved between the two front seats clutching onto Seth's snap back. A small chuckle escaped him as he accepted the cap, feeling almost naked without it and instantly placing the thing on his head, offering him small thanks.

"How was last night anyway?" Roman asked as he merged back onto the freeway. "Normally can't get you to shut up about your  _Tinder dates._ " There was no hiding the sarcastic implications of the last two words, but Seth ignored them. Shrugging off the comment feeling embarrassed that they were having this conversation in front of Dean.

"Not much to tell really." He muttered

"Was it that bad?"

The question didn't shock Seth, what surprised him was who had asked it. His eye rose to the rear-view mirror where he met Deans curious blue stare, one eyebrow cocked as he entertained that playful half smile. But beyond his amused exterior, Seth could see the exhaustion that came with this life on the road. Heavy bags under his eyes making him look older than it should, how those baby blues were slightly reddened around the edges. He looked like he hadn't slept all night. "The worst" Seth muttered with a slightly embarrassed chuckle. He held Dean gaze a moment longer watching that half-smile grew into a full beaming grin, with a shake of the head he looked away scratching his nose with his thumb.  _'Man, does he look good today.'_

"Serves you right for ditching us." Roman mused quietly to. "I knew it must have been bad… you've barely said two words all morning"

' _Yeah… **that's** the reason.'_ Seth sighed as he forced his mind to focus on the road ahead, trying his hardest to not think of the thing he was supposed to not be thinking about. When a sarcastic snigger came from behind him breaking his hard-fought concentration. Sudden surprising pressure shook the back of his chair. Dean was dividing his weight between the two front seats, his elbows resting on each headrest as he leaned through the gap. "You got laid though… right?" Seth opened his mouth to speak, but as he turned he was met by his bright blue eyes, twinkling with intrigue. A small pursed smile giving just a faint indication of those dimples. He didn't just look good, he was looking hotter than the surface of the sun. Seth practically melting under his stare.  _'Damn.'_ Seth shook his head trying to hide his coy smile and the pink flush coming to his cheeks, knowing now he couldn't hide he tore his stare away. The low rumbling chuckle from Dean only confirmed that he had seen. Seth wasn't prudish by any means, he would open up and happily talk about his  _dates_  with Roman, asking for advice, sharing horror stories. But somehow talking about all this with Dean in earshot made him shy.

There was a loud theatrical sniff from the driver. "What's that smell?" As Roman sniffed a few more times Seth and Deans puzzled attention was turned to him. Never taking his eyes off the road, he awkwardly angled his head closer to Dean and inhaled deeply again.

"Quit sniffin' me!" Dean swatted the air around him.

"Dude. Are you wearing cologne?"

"No" he replied bluntly.

"You are!" Roman laughed "You're wearing cologne!"

"Is it a crime to smell good?" he disappeared from the gap, flopping into the back seat.

"When it's coming from you its damn suspicious. What's the occasion?"

"Does there need to be one? Jus' wanted to smell nice, alright." Seth flicked his gaze up to the rear-view mirror. Dean sat with his arms folded tightly across his chest, his tight shirt doing nothing to hide his muscle mass. His lips pursed slightly he locked eyes with Seth in the reflection before looking away sheepishly.

"In fact." Romans eyes briefly glancing up towards the mirror too. "You're looking pretty sharp too. It's a far cry from your usual t-shirt sweatpants combo I'm used t-"

"This isn't about me." He said sharpish with almost aggressive undertones. "We're talking about the guy Davenport was fucking." Roman chuckled in amusement as his hands gripped the wheel tighter. As tight as Seth's throat felt right about now, feeling choked up that Dean still referred to him in such a way, even after all this time. He met those wide blues again in the rear-view mirror again there was no hint of amusement or annoyance. He looked sincere, almost like he genuinely cared… Almost.

He passed a sideward glance towards Roman, his stare was fixed solely on the road again but the big tight-lipped smile made his eyes crinkle at the corners knowing that he was probably paying more attention to there conversation than to driving. "Your right. Spill it, Rollins, what happened?"

Seth sighed as embarrassment coursed through him, knowing neither of them would let up until he gave them an explanation. Feeling the warming tingle returning to his cheeks unable to look at either of them, instead, he took interest in the straps of his backpack, wrapping them around his fingers tugging at the woven fabric. "Let's just say for someone who talked a big game, didn't really live up to the hype. He was cute an all… but didn't really have much else going for him. I tell ya, I think I'm cursed"

"You're not cursed" Seth could practically hear Roman's eye roll.

"Then why can I find a decent guy?"

"Because you're looking in all the wrong places." Seth couldn't argue with that logic. Tinder wasn't the place to find a decent lasting relationship, but what else could he do? It's not like he had enough downtime to explore his options. Keeping a relationship alive while you were on the road 24/7 was hard enough, but trying to find one to begin with was damn near impossible. "Will you at least see this one again?" Roman asked

"God no," Seth muttered with a small chuckle.

"And what did you tell this one when you left?" that smug smirk still glued to his face, like he'd heard it all before.

"I didn't…" Seth's voice grew quieter "he was still asleep." Seth didn't look up from his bag to know that Roman was shaking his head in disagreement. That snarky judgmental tone was enough to rile him up. Roman didn't like him sleeping around, what made it worse was when Seth left them without acknowledgment.  ** _"At least give them a reason you bailed"_**  he would tell him. But Roman never lived that life, he never understood, he was married before any of them even met.

Dean huffed as his solid form returned to rest between the seats again "the ol' Smash and Dash? Never had you down as the type."

He offered a small shrug, "It's just easier… right?" The one corner of Dean's lips pinched upwards into a weird half smile that detected almost no amusement. His brow scrunching in scrutiny. Seth had seen that look before as if he was studying him and judging what he saw. That wound Seth up even more, from Roman he was used to it, but from Dean? "What?!" he snapped, his temper flaring.

"Nothin'," Dean said returning to his seat. But Seth wasn't buying it, he followed his reflection in the rear-view mirror.

"Don't gimme that. Like you've never done it before." Seth glared, staring deep into those cool collected blues. Dean rose his arms in defensive surrender.

"Hey man, you do you. Whatever gets you through the night."

Seth ground his teeth together, adjusting his position in his seat to glower behind him. "That's pretty rich coming from you," he snapped.

"Boys…" Roman warned in a low rumble.

"I just don't get the whole Tinder thing." Dean continued in a huff ignoring the warning. His arms folded tightly across his chest to glare at Seth.

"And why do you suddenly care  _so much_  about my wellbeing?"

"I don't care. You can fuck whoever you want. I'm just surprised that you..." Dean paused, not wanting to finish his sentence. Averting his gaze, he started towards the empty seat beside him. The realization screaming at Seth that this wasn't judgment. It was, what? … pity?

"That I what… That I like to sleep around? Is that so unbelievable? Don't you dare sit there acting all high and mighty like you never did this shit. Perspectives change Dean. People change."

"So you keep tellin me," Dean muttered his eyes flitting from the empty space to Seth's souring expression.

"And when you finally fucking listen, I'll stop."

"That's enough you two." Roman barked, causing Seth to hop into the correct position in his seat.

Seth scowled out at the highway ahead of him, like it was  _its_ fault. His fists balled in his lap, clenching so tightly that his knuckles ached. "You know what. No, I'm not the same guy I was. I'm better! I know what I want, and I'll go out and take it. Maybe that means sleeping with a couple of fuck boys, but it's  _MY_  life! We can't all have fucking perfect relationships like you two, so get the fuck off my back!"

There was a stretch of awkward silence making the atmosphere in the car thick and tight. "Whatever." The low mumble came from behind him. Seth scowled at the rear-view mirror again ready to retaliate. Dean was leaning against the car door, elbow perched on the handle, his chin resting on his balled-up fist, gazing out the window. No sign of the usual fiery 'no fucks given' attitude of Dean Ambrose. He looked almost dejected, sorrowful like he was in a sad music video. His eyes caught Seth's again briefly, a light sparkle, glinting off his blues before returning to the view out his window.  _'Yeah… Whatever.'_ Yanking the phone out his pocket he attached his headphones, happy to ignore both of them for the rest of the trip.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Monday 7th August 2017_ **

Seth felt like a damn idiot. He had Dean right there in the car giving him every opportunity to say something, and what did he do? Nothing. Most of that car ride had been in suspended silence, Seth still reeling with a mixture of embarrassment of the night before and anger at his friends. Not that Dean wasn't exactly forthcoming after their little spat either … no doubt his "Don't trust Rollins, no matter what" kick was now stronger than ever. That had been nearly a week ago. Any progress that Seth had made with he and Dean were surely lost now. Seth was nearing his wit's end, he had tried and done everything to get them on good terms again. He knew he was stubborn, but this was almost verging on ridiculous. The one chance where Dean couldn't escape, Seth had blown it. To preoccupied with his own damn mind.  _'Stupid Rollins.'_ He groaned loudly at his own foolishness before looking anxiously around the room, just in case anyone heard him. Thankfully no one noticed he was even there.

Catering was its usual hectic self this time of the day. Raw was still hours away from going live but it didn't mean a break for anyone involved. Superstars spent every pre-show moment running down strategies for their matches, going over last-minute changes to the bill, ring drills, filming segments. Riggers and roadies hurried around the building the ring, testing lights and sound qualities. Make-up girls setting up their stations to beautify the Superstars, seamstresses fixing and altering ring attire at the last second. All running around like headless chickens making sure everyone was where they needed to be when the cameras went live. It was a crazy lifestyle, but one Seth had come to love. Today, however, he was in no rush, he knew his match up and was fairly confident about it. Sheamus, opening match. He's kicked his stupid hawked haired ass once, he can do it again.

He stared at his food, not really hungry for anything that lay on his plastic plate. Some pasta salad, a sandwich, large red apple and a paper cup full of strong cheap catering coffee. He knew he should eat, he hadn't all day. He didn't even fit in a post-show work out when he arrived, lost too deep in his own thoughts. He had that dream again. Twice since that first time in fact, and each time it unsettled the Kingslayer. Why? After all these weeks, months, why now? He was starting to finally get over him, finally starting to move on and yet there he was being pulled right back into the fray of it.

Trying to distract his mind he pulled out his phone. He had meant to open a game but instead found himself scrolling through his Tinder profile, again. He scrolled absentmindedly, passing image after image of guys all trying to find love, sex or whatever they could. Left, right, Left, left, right. His thumb hovered over one particular image and for a moment Seth thought he was going crazy,  _'Dean?'_

The guy sure looked like him, the same haunting blue eyes and mussed up brunette coppery hair, the face was slightly thinner but still possessed that strong defining jawline and a wicked smile that wasn't hidden behind a scruffy rugged beard. Daniel, 30. He was certainly attractive, but with a lack of bio description and only one picture to showcase, Seth feared that this was probably nothing more than another fake account, set up by a paranoid boyfriend, bitter ex, or one of the testing bots the app puts out. This, however, didn't stop Seth from swiping left, his thumb following the same rhythm he had been for the last few minutes.  ** _"YOU HAVE A MATCH!"_**  flashed up across the screen.

"Hey," the gruff familiar voice broke his concentration. Looking up from his phone he was greeted with another pair of haunting blue eyes. His heart constricting in his chest, feeling like maybe he thought his name too many times and he just appeared. Dean stood with two hands gripping the back of the plastic chair opposite Seth. As he leaned forward pressing his weight down, his knuckles turned white under the strain of his weight. He looked like he'd just arrived, baggy grey hoody and black tracksuit bottoms, a far cry from how he'd looked the last time Seth had seen him.

"I know you're facing the Irish Cockatoo tonight. I just wanted to say  _-erm-_ be careful out there… ok?"

Seth scoffed "I can handle Sheamus" he stated matter-of-factly.

"I know, I just mean…" one of Deans hands let go of the chair to nervously rub his neck. "What I said last week, don't go into battles you can't handle by yourself. I got Cesaro tonight, but you'll know he'll be at ringside supporting his boy. It's just a head up, a'right."

Seth wasn't sure what to say, was Dean actually looking out for him? He didn't have time to ask. With a rhythmic drumming of his fingers, Dean pushed himself off the chair and turned to walk away.

"Wait," Seth called after him. Not really wanting him to leave, but equally not knowing what to say to make him stay. Dean stopped, turning slowly back around with a small questioning furrow cross his brow. "Th-Thanks"

His lips twitched into a small smile just for a nanosecond, but Seth caught it. He looked down at the floor, tucking his hands into the pouch of his hoodie, scuffing his shoe across the floor like he was kicking an invisible pebble. "Maybe I should be the one thanking you." Seth's forehead creased in confusion "What you did for me and Ro last week. I really appreciated it. So, thank you."

Taken completely aback by his words Seth didn't have a chance to respond, his mouth frozen in a permanent O matching the wideness of his stare. All he could do was watch Dean flick him an amused smile and disappear into the crowd of people.

…::::::…

Two heavy thick boots drilled deep into Seth's chest, the wind driven out of him as he flew across the ring, hitting the canvas with a loud bang, the framework rattling underneath his body. Sheamus began climbing the turnbuckle, perched atop the corner very much like the Irish cockatoo Dean had referred to him as. Having little time to recuperate Seth was back to his feet, springing to the turnbuckle gripping onto Sheamus for support as he climbed. He managed to make it to the middle rope this time before Sheamus's fist collided with his gut and then his head, causing him to lose his balance. However, with his cat-like reflexes, Seth managed to divert his fall into a ninja roll, averting injury and helping his momentum build. He was on his feet and attempting to climb the turnbuckle again.  _'Third time the charm.'_  Before Sheamus even realized what was happening Seth was on him, literally, climbing to his shoulder and monkey flipping him across the ring. The Irish man crawled to his knees, but Seth was ready, fired up and waiting  _'Come on you son of a bitch, turn 'round.'_  As Sheamus looked towards Seth direction he sprang from the corner planting a sharp snapping superkick right to his cheek. He collapsed to the canvas and Seth covered him but only for a 2 count. Seth lay next to the man exhausted. ' _What's it going to take?!'_  He was literally throwing everything he could at the guy but he just wouldn't stay down.

"Come on Sheamus. You got this!" Cesaro called over the roar of the crowd, trying all he could to rally and cheer on his tag partner. Dean had been right. Ceasro played a minor part in there match so far, nothing more than an annoying buzz at ringside. But this bout was far from over, and Seth couldn't rule his involvement out just yet. Seth lumbered to his feet, grabbing a fist full of that bright orange mohawk and planting a quick succession of kicks to his head. Dragging the man to his feet to tried to set him up for a powerbomb, but a sudden surge of strength coursed through Sheamus lifting the Architect up and over his head, giving Seth just enough time to roll gracefully over his back (landing on his feet, of course.) Using the ropes to ricochet off, he clocked the Celtic Warrior with a sling blade. The match is all in Seth's favor, even Cesaro could sense it. He climbed onto the ring apron as Seth charged at him, causing him to drop to the matted floor outside. Seth began his climb up the turnbuckle. As he leaped from the top rope, Cesaro clawed back on the apron momentarily distracting Seth, causing him to alter his flight path and halt his movement. Just enough well-timed distraction for Sheamus to regroup, sneaking up behind for the roll up. 1…2…3.

Sheamus vacated the ring as quickly as the roll-up had occurred, celebrating with his partner as they paraded around ringside flaunting their belts. Seth propped up on one elbow stared incredulously at the referee. He… lost? They cheated, and he lost. Seth saw red. He was on his feet and running before his brain even had a chance to realise what was going on.  ** _"Don't go into battles for yourself"_**  Deans words seemed to mock him, but Seth's feet had already left the ground. He flew through the middle rope and launched himself at Cesaro. Seth's body didn't even make it to the floor before he was ambushed by Sheamus and the numbers game really took a hold. Cesaro held his body aloft as Sheamus delved blow after blow to his gut before tossing him into the crowd barricade, back first. The pain shooting through his body as his spine collided with a steel beam inside the padded case.  _'I guess this is what Dean meant…'_

…::::::…::::::…::::::…::::::…::::::…::::::…

The beat down was hard to watch, but Dean warned him. He wasn't going to help, not this time. He would never learn if Dean kept running to his rescue. Didn't stop him feeling crappy about it. He wasn't alone in the locker room, but the distraction of the TV felt like his only company. However, the burden of watching was too much to bear. Not because the beatdown had been malicious, it was tame considering, but the guilt that riled him was too much. Unable to stand watching it for much longer, he pulled on his t-shirt, zipped up his bag and left. The backstage had entered the eerie quiet lull while the show was being broadcast, barely another sole was even spotted when the cameras were on. The call of the live crowd sounding much louder through the empty bellowing halls. Cracking his knuckles in impatience he wandered those halls, looking something to distract himself from the crappy feeling in his gut.  _'Catering? Nah not hungry. Renee? She'll be busy. Roman?'_ Roman had a big match later on that evening and would probably would need a pep talk or something, even though he wasn't entirely sure where to find him. Lost in his own train of thought he never noticed the figure looming around the corner. Seth lumbered huffing a wheezing towards Dean, that pang of guilt plucking at his insides once again.  _'Why did you have to go and do that?! Just accept you lost and move on.'_  Is what he wanted to say, but what came out… "I told you not to do that again." Dean commented "Now I look like a jerk."

"You know why you look like a jerk? Because you are a jerk!" Seth barked. Dean blinking in puzzlement at his scowling features. "It's been 3 years. A lot has come and gone so you tell me what I got to do to get you to forgive me because I've done everything I can think of."

The illusionary heckles on Deans neck prickled as he snarled. "I don't know if you're the same guy or not, I'm not sticking around long enough to find out." The sharpness of his tone wasn't missed by Seth, his angry facade thawing as Dean barged passed him and stormed down the hallway in the direction of where Seth had just come.

"I've changed Dean" his annoyed appeal followed "Why can't you see that?!" Of course, Dean could see he had changed, anyone with a pair of eyes could see the man standing less than 6 foot away from him was not the same Seth Rollins he was 3 years ago. But his words weren't going to slow him down, not this time. With a shake of his head, he just continued walking.

…::::::…

"What the fuck Ambrose!?" Roman snapped as he stormed through the open entry into catering. Dean sat at the same table Seth had been a few hours prior, in exactly the same seat no less. The room was a lot emptier now and much quieter. Dean preferred it this way, he had never been a big fan of crowds. However, the few straggling people who were left hanging around all stopped what they were doing to stare dumbfounded at Roman. His large bellowing voice echoed the small room startling them all. All except for Dean. He was expecting it.

"What?" he asked with a nonchalant shrug, swinging back casually on the two legs of his chair. Roman didn't look happy. Hard lines crossed his brow as he scowled at his brother. Roman didn't sit, he drilled two balled up fists into the surface of the table with a loud crack as he loomed over his friend.

"Seriously!? He got the shit kick out of him Dean. He's with the trainers right now making sure he didn't fuck up a rib!" Dean lowered his chair to the ground, the guilt building more inside him, he didn't think he was hurt that badly. He offered a small shrug of indifference again as he played with an empty sugar packet that lay on the table in front of him.

"I didn't see you running down to help him either" his quiet petulant retort came.

"I was busy!" Roman roared "This is the first break I've had all night! I didn't even get to see his match. But I would have, I would have marched right down there and kicked their fucking asses. Like you should have."

"Why?" Deans temper rising in pitch to match "I told him last week not to do anything stupid! It's his own damn fault"

Roman wasn't buying it, he raised his eyebrow as he considered him, his lips puckering. "So, you're telling me you wouldn't have done the same if you were in his shoes?" Dean remained silent, his gaze returning to the tiny pink sugar packet again, the muscles in his jaw growing tighter as it clenched. "Yeah, that's what I thought…" Roman pulled out the empty chair opposite and sat down, his knees bashing against Deans under the small surface "So why don't you cut the bull shit and give the guy a break."

Dean glared up at him through his lashes. "I was keeping my promise."

Roman sighed rolling his head back, resting his two large hands on his head, an obvious attempt to calm himself down. The pair sat there in silence, Dean flicking the sugar packet back and forth, his elbows resting on the tables plastic surface when a small low single chuckle escaped his friend. "I don't get you, man." Roman lowered his head to consider Dean, all traces of his annoyance gone, replaced with a ruthful half smile. "One minute your sharing car rides with the guy, worrying about his Tinder life… and now you're happy to sit back and watch his ass get beat?" Dean remained silent. The sugar packet he continued to fiddle with, emptied out the remnants of the sweet powder that hid inside. "He's eventually goin' to get sick of jumping through hoops for you."

"Good," Dean mumbled unconvincingly.

"You don't mean that. Why are you so hell-bent on punishing the guy?" Dean continued to sit in silence, tracing his finger through the loose grains. "Fine." Roman chuckled "I can't decide if I just need to bang your heads together or if you guys need to fuck it out. You'd both feel a lot better with-"

"That's not funny Ro!" Dean snapped, taking Roman by surprise "and I'm not punishing him. This isn't exactly a cakewalk for me either y'know." Dean scowled hard at his friend, his forehead aching with the strain. "This is all his fucking fault. I didn't do anything!"

"Exactly! You didn't  _do_  anything"

"What do you want from me, Roman!? I told him I wasn't going to help. So, I didn't help. How does that make  _me_  the bad guy?"

"Because if it was the other way around he would have come saved your stupid stubborn ass." The pit in Dean's stomach opened, feeling like everything inside his body fell through it into a black abyss. The one thing Dean was trying to keep suppressed, the root cause of his guilt. "He's our friend Dean. Our brother. You don't just stop caring about them… Don't give me that look." Dean turned his disgusted expression back to his small pile of mess on the table. Sweeping it away to the floor, he banged his elbow up onto the surface to rest his chin in his upturned palm, looking anywhere but at his friend. Roman tucked his chair nearer the table, leaning in close enough to Dean and with a low rumble of a whisper "You can't blame him for getting cold feet dude. That's not fair."

Dean looked at him from the corner of his eye. His jaw flexing multiple time as he considered Romans features. His wide brown eyes lacked that usual aura of confidence, his usual long wet slicked black hair was dried and tied neatly in a bun. How the straps from his tank top clung tightly to his heavy frame and yet he somehow looked so much smaller than usual. This wasn't Roman Reigns, international superstar demanding the locker room respect. This was just your average Joe, looking out for his dearest friend. There was no anger in Roman anymore, nothing but concern. However, the air between them wasn't a comforting feeling. It was thick and hung heavily like a blanket, swaddling the pair. Something that they both clearly knew but neither one would speak. "You got two options, Dean. You let this shit go or you deal with it."

…::::::…

' _Deal with it?! That's easier said than done.'_  Romans words rattled around his head for the rest of the night.

He beat Cesaro earlier in the evening, and the beatdown afterward was almost as predictable as their cheating tactics. What he didn't expect was Seth, no doubt seeking retribution for his attack earlier. Dean felt like a piece of shit. He didn't have to come out, he could have stayed in the back, waiting for them to finish the job, but no. He charged his way to the ring like a man on a mission, a clear and deliberate message that read "Fuck you, Ambrose." And for once, Dean wasn't going to argue the fact. There was no need for him to come to his rescue, after all, he left him high and dry.

"You just don't get it do you?" Dean knelt in the middle of the ring. Seth standing over him after sending The Bar running up the ramp. "I will always have your back." His voice loud enough for Dean to catch. Like their own private moment. As Dean lumbered to his feet, meeting Seth's stoic gaze instinct took over and he raised his fist. The sign of solidarity, brotherhood, love. The signature of the Shield. But Seth turned his back, not all surprising really, but it didn't make that sting hurt any less.

"I've never seen you concentrate so much on your phone." Deans eyes tore away from his cell screen. Renee stood in the bathroom doorway of their small hotel room, toothbrush hanging from her mouth dressed in one of Dean's overly large DA t-shirts. "You must be reading something good" she half smiled, white foam dribbling from the corner of her mouth as she spoke.

He wasn't reading anything, in fact, he was trying to compose a new text message. But all he had managed to accomplish was adding a recipient; Rollins.

After Raw went off the air Dean was on the hunt, searching every room of the place to find him, only to give up his wild goose chase after discovered he had already left. Never giving Dean a chance to explain himself or even apologize. The bed dipped beside him as Renee slid under the sheets, her soft hand caressing his bicep. "How you feelin'?"

"Fine," he mumbled a reply. He knew he didn't sound convincing, but she didn't push it any further. Leaning up to place a gentle kiss on his cheek and a soft whispered  _"love you,"_  she settled down to sleep. Slapping the light switch beside him he plunged the room into darkness. Not that he had any intention of falling asleep. The bright backlight from his phone illuminating the small space that surrounded him. He decided finally on a message:

[I'm an ass hole. I'm sorry.]

 


	10. Chapter 10

**_14th August 2017_ **

Seth wasn't dragged against his will, kicking and screaming like an inmate on Death Row. On the contrary, Seth was filled with a potent mixture of curiosity and trepidation that he was heading towards something awful. As they rounded a corner the black curtain of Gorilla position loomed closer. The floodgates opened, sending a tidal wave of dread flooding the pit of Seth's stomach.

Dean Ambrose wanted to talk.

"Did he say what he wanted?" Seth asked tentatively. Already pretty sure he knew the answer. But with no surprise, Roman shook his head.

"He just told me to come get you."

Seth really wasn't overly happy about confronting the man he had been ignoring for the past 7 days. He was more than convinced that this was some kind of retaliation for leaving him 'hanging' in the ring last week. But Seth was done. Done with his games, chasing after him, doing everything he could to get back in his good graces. Surely refusing the fist bump would have been the end of all this. But apparently not. Dean suddenly had a 'change of heart' and now wanted to talk. Seth knowing all too well under these circumstances, the only talking Dean ever did was with his fists.

"Well…If he's going to kick my ass, it's better to do it out there where it's safer" Seth said with a false light-hearted chuckle.

"He's not gonna kick your ass," Roman muttered but his tone didn't fill Seth with confidence. He was pretty sure Roman didn't even believe his own words.

With a dejected huff he folded his arms across his chest, coming to a stop outside the black curtain. A small monitor sat perched atop of some production crates, casting a dull light around the small darkened entryway. Dean stood agitated in the centre of the ring, microphone primed in hand. "I know a lot of people are wondering after last week…" his familiar gravely tone echoed around the vast space. "What in the world is going on with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose." Seth scoffed,  _'Was wondering that myself.'_

[I'm an ass hole, I'm sorry]. Dean's last text message imprinted in Seth's mind. He had been so adamant on not wanting anything to do with him, but now he wanted to talk? Was this Dean offering an olive branch of peace, or, is this just some horrible humiliating plan conjured up by a Lunatic. Either way, Seth never imagined this 'talk' would be in the centre of the ring, in front of the entire world.  _'Typical Ambrose'_

Swiping a bottle of water from a nearby table, Seth released his bun, letting his dark hair fall to his shoulder before dousing it with the water. If he was going for a fight, he better look the part. The heavy metal guitar riff of his entrance theme echoed the vast arena. Seth took a deep steadying breath…  _'Here goes nothing.'_

" **BURN. IT. DOWN!"**

He stepped through the curtain onto the entrance ramp. The crowd deafening as he walked with his head held high, full of determination. However, deep inside he felt uneasy. Dean prowled around the ring like a caged animal ready to strike. Not looking like a man who wanted to bury the hatchet. (Unless the hatchet was going to be buried in Seth's face.) Dean didn't break stride as Seth stepped gingerly through the ropes

"Is this your idea of a talk?" Seth called over the music as he gestured to the hundreds of rowdy WWE fans, all watching there every movement.

Dean shrugged "You've ignored me all week. Needed to get you somewhere you couldn't escape."

Well, that didn't feel Seth with hope. He gulped a large throat full of fear down as he was handed a microphone as Dean raised his own to his lips.

"All right… I am sick and tired of playing these games. I'm just gonna ask ya, what you doin'?!"

"ME?! My games?!" Seth's incredulous tone echoed around the arena. "What about you?! You're the guy that's coming out to save me one week, then the next week you disappear?!" Dean jaw flexed as he stared displeased at Seth, almost transfixed. Like the calm before the storm. "You say that Kurt Angle made us team together and that's the only reason you'd do it. Yet you keep showing up." Dean snorted with a shake of his head, as he cast his gaze out over the crowd. "You say you can't trust me. But a single look in your eye tells me that your lying." Seth's body buzzed with adrenaline, overcoming every last drop of fear in his system as those eyes fell back on him. "The truth is Dean, I know you care." Dean cast his gaze to the mat, running a hand over his stubbled chin. "So, if you're willing to let bygones be bygones. I'm done playing games." Seth lowered his mic and raised his balled fist. The crowd was deafening as Dean took a few steps back, that uneasy swagger returning as he paced the ring again. The moment between them felt like an eternity, who knows what ticks through that Lunatics head. The longer each second passed by, Seth's guard grew. This was it, if he was going to strike it would be now. Dean took a few deliberate threatening strides towards Seth.

"You have got to be KIDDING ME!" Not the retort Seth had expected as he lowered his fist with a small shake of his head. "Last week I stuck my hand out for you, and I get nothing. I apologize, and I still got NOTHING! I stuck my ass out on the line there last week and you made me look like a fool, practically spat in my face!" Dean's fiery eyes bore holes into the side of Seth's head matching the intensity of his words. "I thought for just a teeny second that maybe, maybe I could trust you again"

Seth's jaw clenched, sick of hearing the same old shit spouted from his mouth. "You have a hard time trusting me?" He yelled back "You know what? I can't even trust myself!" There was a pause as Seth's own words dawned on him. He couldn't trust himself around Dean. A cold flash of panic swept through his body, sending chills down his spine. The thoughts he had about that man, the things he secretly longed. Seth would do anything for him, would never say no. He was completely under his spell. The way Dean looked at him right now, his eyebrow arching up suspiciously, jaw flexing. How he stopped pacing the ring just to watch the man in front of him sent that pleasant heat through his body. Seth ripped his eyes away and leaned against the ropes staring out into the audience. His palms were clammy, making the microphone he held slippery. Breath short as his throat constricted, the pounding of his heart thudding in his ears, drowning out the call of the crowd. How could he still be so attracted to someone after all this time.

"Y'know what" Seth's voice sounded alien to him, small, timid. "Maybe – maybe this will never work." He turned to Dean, that eyebrow still raised, but all traces of anger vanished from his posture, "I can't do this. Your right, too much has happened. I'm done." Seth dropped the mic and tried to exit the ring, needing solace. Deans cool hand clasped his warm skin, causing him to stop and look. He threw the mic to the floor. A look of torment and sorrow battling across his face as he pursed his lips. His chest rising and falling heavily as he stood, his arms matching the weight of his breathing as they hung limply by his sides. "What do you want from me?" Seth pleaded but his question was drowned by the thousands of screaming fans. Dean fidgeted as he tried to say something over the crowd but his words were lost in the cacophony of the audience.

Dean rose his fist.

If the crowd were loud before, they were near deafening now. But all Seth could concentrate on was the pale hand that hung in the air in front of him. Following his gaze from the balled knuckles that turned white under the clenching strain, he trailed his gaze up the muscular fair-haired arm, to the bulging bicep that looked constricted under the sleeve of his merchandised t-shirt.

"Davenport." His nickname, breaking through the crowd's noise like a homing beacon. He finally landed on his eyes. Those powerful blue eyes that almost looked like they were pleading. Dean had never been great at expressing his feeling, but his eyes always spoke what his heart wanted. His shoulder rose and fell with every breath, his lips a soft line. "I'm sorry."

Seth felt his own jaw tremble as he tried to swallow the lump in his throat. Clenching his own fist, Seth stared at his knuckles, a wispy covering of dark hair masking his tanned skin. But Seth had made up his mind, as much as it pained him, he lowered his fist and turned his back on Dean.

He didn't make it far, Dean grabbed his arm and forcefully spun him. "The hell's your problem!"

"My Problem!" Seth bit back as he pressed two flat palms against the curve of Deans chest shoving him hard. "You're the one who won't drop it!"

Dean shoved him again, this time a lot harder, the muted slap matching the sting he felt "You're the one being a fucking baby about this shit"

Seth matched the ferocity of his slap as his retorted "At least I don't pretend to care!"

That did it. Dean lunged spearing Seth to the matt, laying fists into his forehead. All the while Seth doing his best to shield himself from the onslaught of blows. Fuelled by adrenaline Seth managed to flip Dean as he lay punches to his face, Dean not doing anything to hide away. The look of hurt/ anger and betray lingered in those blues, causing Seth to have a momentary lap of judgment. He paused just for a split second, just enough time to let Dean pick up the offense again. Fists harder and faster laying into Seth's head and torso. With a final kick, Dean stood.

"What's your problem?!" he asked with all the venom he could muster as he towered over Seth. But he made the fatal mistake of turning his back. Seth leaped to his feet with a growl, springing up and clinging to Deans back, pushing him into the rope and tossing him to the matt as their ice hockey like fight continued. Seth grabbed him in a headlock laying fists to his head, Dean managed to overpower him pushing him to the ropes, the pair tumbled through hitting the padded mats outside. Breathless, the pair sat staring each other down, Dean wiping away the spit from his mouth as he considered Rollins. With this tension boiling between them this was bound to happen eventually.

Heavy brash bagpipes filled the air. Confused, Seth turned just in time to see a knee collide with his cheek slamming his head into the crowd barricade. Sheamus and Cesaro. Coming to finish the job. Seth slumped against the barricade as The Bar advanced on Dean. Dragging him to his feet and laying blows into his back, before tossing him over the barricade into the crowd. The pair turned quickly onto Rollins. Picking him up only to throw him into the barricade, chest first. The wind-driven out of him they picked him up and roll him into the ring. Not satisfied with there work. Seth crawled, attempting to get away but the numbers game was too strong. He was dragged defencelessly across the ring and throw into the corner, stomps collided with his chest, as a second foot trapped his throat in the corner, choking the air out of him. Through the small amount of space that Seth could see, he watched Dean slide his way into the ring and charged at the Bar. Springing and colliding into the backs. Seth gasped as he managed to regain a lung full of air. Watching from his corner as Dean got pummelled by The Bar. He came to his rescue. And now he was paying the price, dragging himself to his feet he hopped onto the turnbuckle, waiting for the perfect moment. As Cesaro dragged Dean too his feet, Sheamus took a step backwards, lining Ambrose up to receive a Brogue kick. This gave Seth the perfect chance. He leapt, flying across the ring hitting Sheamus with a cross body. The pair clattered to the matt with Seth laying punch after punch into the Irishman. Cesaro joined the fray, dragging Seth off his partner and tossing him with ease across the ring. Seth rolled and came to a stop next to Dean. Panting and battered they shared a look, and a single nod. But before they could make there move The Bar were back on them, dragging them to their feet. Seth broke away finding a new lease of strength and lay fists into the Swiss Cyborg, shoving him into the turnbuckle. Dean managed to get the upper hand on Sheamus too. Laying fists into his face but a sucker punched to the gut sent Dean staggering backwards. Taking a nanosecond of a breather he dodged a clothesline, ducking swiftly under Sheamus's arm. Instinct kicked in as Seth charged to his side. Locking arms with Ambrose, the pair drove a double clothesline to Sheamus's chest, sending the Irish Cockatoo over the top rope and crashing to the mats outside. Seth turned to see Cesaro approaching, but momentum was on his side. A swift kick to the gut bend the Swiss Cyborg in half, clutching his stomach in winded agony. Seth sent another kick this time colliding with his chin, staggering the large man backwards. From the corner of his eye, he caught Ambrose running and landing a dropkick to his chest sending him flat to the mat. Staggering to his feet he clung to the ropes for support, but he had very little time for a breather as Seth and Dean struck him again with a double clothesline, sending the Swissman over the top rope. Just like his partner.

Adrenaline seethed through Seth, his whole body on literal fire. Ripping off his t-shirt and tossing it into the crowd. He watched Dean pace back and forth as he came down from his adrenaline high. Looking every bit as pumped up as Seth did, because he knew it too. Separately, taking on The Bar was impossible, but together they sent them packing. Running with their tails between their legs. They were unstoppable together, and Seth was willing to give all this up. Dean stopped pacing as he caught Seth's eye. The crowd cheering, screaming and chanting one word. "Shield." Emotion coursed over Dean's face as he battled internally what to do. "Fuck It!" He raised his fist. Seth stared dumbfounded at it for a moment Dean pulling it back almost as instantly "What? You're not gonna do it? After that?!"

Seth balled his fist, and raised it to the middle, of course, he was going to! But Dean was having second thoughts. Seth shrugged  _'What the hell,'_  but a small smug grin crossed Deans face. "Together." The pair bumped fists. The joy of the crowd echoed that of what Seth felt inside. This was awesome.

…::::::…

" ** _Sheamus and Cesaro you will defend your tag team titles at Summer Slam. Against Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose!"_**

"Jesus Rome! Let go!" Dean wheezed. Seth couldn't even speak. His face crushed so tightly against Roman's peck he thought he might suffocate. The pressure of the Roman Reigns bear hug subsided, as the pair pushed back gasping for air like fish out of water. The locker room was deserted now, the nights show in full swing. Superstars were either gathering around TV's watching the action, stuffing their face in catering, or preparing for their part in the show. Seth was grateful for the solitude. Sauntering over to his bag, unable to wipe the smile from his face, he sat on the wooden bench beside his belongings. He watched Dean and Roman for the briefest of moments when an odd sensation of feeling whole again overcame him. The team was back together.

As he unzipped the fabric of his duffle bag he caught sight of his cell phone first, with a new notification. Pulling out the blue fluffy towel that sat underneath he threw it over his shoulders before scooping up his phone. His smile broadening even more as he recognised the small flame icon. A New Message, from Daniel.

[Good luck tonight 


	11. Chapter 11

**_And no one knows what it's like._**  
**_To be hated, To be fated._**  
**_To telling only lies._**  
**_But my dreams they aren't as empty,_**  
**_As my conscience seems to be._**

**Behind Blue Eyes – Limp Bizkit**

**_Saturday 19th August._ **

"This is it" Roman announced as he pulled into the motel parking lot. Dean looked warily out the window. He had stayed in some pretty shitty places during his time on the road, but this surely had to be in the top 10. A bright blue metal awning stretched the U shape span of the building, a stark contrast to the exterior cracked, mustard yellow walls. The large wooden welcome sign sat atop the blue rusted metal, battered and weather-worn read the motels name. Motel Bermuda. If it wasn't for the large flickering 'Open' sign in the front window he could have sworn that the place was abandoned.

"Y'know. We could afford better places Uce," Seth leaned in, resting his elbows on the front seats of the rental as he eyed the motel exterior with a grimace. "Does this place even have Wifi?"

"Or running water?" Dean quipped

"Hey, you guys wanted a nostalgia trip. The shiftiest place money has to offer." Roman remarked smugly. "I'll go check us in." He unbuckled his belt and stepped out the car, Seth and Dean following suit. The place looked even worse when they stood in the parking lot. Weeds spouting out of the cracks in the abused tarmac. The rooms hugged the perimeter of the parking lot, the walkway sheltered by that blue, leaking, rusted covering. A large ice machine to the left of the reception entrance rattled violently as a big rig truck thundered past the down highway. There weren't many other cars in the parking lot, which wasn't a surprise at all, but it did fill Dean with a little bit of worry. Like they had just stepped into a horror film.

They were still a good two hours outside of Brooklyn, the home of this year's Summer Slam, and could have easily make the drive to New York without a pitstop. But the idea of re-living the Shield glory days was too much to pass up on. They didn't choose to stay in the crappy motels by choice back then, between the three of them it was all they could really afford. Even when they started making serious money, they would still pass up on the nice hotels and red-eye flights, choosing to road trip and share a room with your best buddies.

"Rollins" Romans voice bellowed across the parking lot. He tapped a sign stuck to the large window. "Free Wifi."

"Sweet!" Seth leaned against the car, withdrawing his phone he tapped away at the screen, no doubt logging into his precious Wifi. He had been unusually quiet on the ride over, his nose practically pressed up against that screen, but something in his demeanor at this moment made Dean stop and stare. He looked despondent. Like someone had just eaten the last of his favorite candy bars. Walking to the back of the car he popped the trunk and started to unload the bags.

"You ok?" Dean asked. "You look like someone just shit in your Cheerio's"

Seth smiled, huffing through his nose with an amused hummed, his eyes still glued to his screen. "I'm fine." Sliding his cell back into his shorts pocket as an almost obvious forced smile crept across his features.

"Room 16," Roman announced with the rattle of keys as he rejoined his brothers.

Their room was as drab and dated as the exterior. Two large queen-sized beds greeted them, draped in the ugliest floral navy-blue sheets. The walls were a dirty cream, once probably clean and crisp but now stained and tarnished with mysterious patches where the colors didn't quite match. The only window in the join was covered by a thick dirty yellow curtain that none of them wanted to touch, opting to switch on the overhead light, bathing the room with artificial brightness. Dean wandered into the bathroom. It was small and covered the basics. Shower cubical, sink, toilet, all crammed in a closet-sized space.

"Gee Roman. You sure know how to pick em'" Seth deadpanned.

"Wait, there's no sofa?" Dean noticed, returning to the main room. Next to him stood a rickety old table and chairs, a tiny a mini fridge that probably could only house a 6 pack of beer. Two nightstands sat beside each bed and tucked away in the furthest corner of the room an almost antique looking dresser, with a TV perched precariously on top. But no sofa. Dropping his backpack to the floor in disappointment, "Man, I'm not sleeping on the floor." He complained. As tradition states, the three of them would alternate their sleeping arrangements. Two would get the beds, while the third had to make do with whatever else the room offered. Sofa, armchair or in this case, the cold grubby carpet clad floor.

"Them the rules kid." Roman chuckled as he sat on his bed, bouncing slightly on the edge of the mattress, the springs scraping and squeaking under his weight.

"No way. I'm all for tradition but…" he scuffed his boot along a mysterious grey stain on the harsh carpet. "If I sleep on  _that_  think I'll get dysentery or something"

Seth laughed, already having claimed the second bed, his suitcase atop the mattress and open. "Your planning on eating the carpet?" he asked sarcastically.

"And you know all about munching on rugs, right Sethie-boy?" Roman asked with a raised knowing eyebrow. Dean chuckled as Seth scrunch his nose up in disgust. After kicking off his sneakers Roman lay across his bed, his back leaning up against the headboard, his arms stretching up and resting behind his head. "If you're gonna be a big baby Ambrose, just bunk with one of us," he shrugged.

"I ain't sharing with you! Last time we did, you hogged the bed and I ended up sleeping on the floor anyway."

"Share with Seth then. If he doesn't mind." There was no hiding the small smirk that crept across Romans face. Dean stood rigid. Staring wide-eyed at his friend, his jaw flexing and tensing as panic rained through him. _'That son of a-'_

"I- I don't mind." Seth's small reply came. "Not like we haven't before, right." That was true enough, many a time on the road they had shared a bed once or twice. But that was before shit got… complicated. Dean was torn, he really didn't want to sleep on that floor. Even with his boots on he could feel it was inexplicably sticky in some places. But sharing a bed with Seth… "I'll let you be the big spoon if you want" Seth joked, a playful smirk tugging at the one corner of his lips. Dean huffed a nervous chuckle. He couldn't place why he was so worried. With a silent deep breath, he shrugged, trying to pass it off coolly as possible. But judging by his suddenly sweaty palms, he was far from it.

Removing his suitcase Seth settled down on his side of the bed, sitting cross-legged on the floral bed sheets, phone in hand again. Dean kicked his backpack towards the nightstand before sitting down gingerly on the edge of the mattress, staring at the motel room door. His heart pounding in his ears as he tried to calm himself.  _'Just for one night, it's no big deal.'_ Retrieving the box of cigarettes and the small plastic lighter (that he no longer needed to hide) he dropped them all on the nightstand along with his cell phone, before kicking off his boots. He swung his legs onto the mattress, casting a curious glance over Seth's shoulder as he joined him on the bed. Tinder, again. But there were no pictures of hot guys this time, instead, it was replaced with a message conversation, the text its self too small for Dean to clearly make out. He watched Seth start to type out a message but then hurriedly deleted it again, repeating this action 3 more times before Roman spoke.

"I think it's time we get this party started." Dean following his path curiously as he moved to the end of his bed and unzipped his suitcase. His eyes lighting up when he saw what his friend produced. Jack Daniels, Dean's favorite sons.

"Reigns you big wet Samoan. I fuckin' love you." Roman beamed as he cracked the seal, pouring the amber liquid into three plastic red cups that were also produced from the magical suitcase. Dean licked his lips in anticipation as he and Seth were handed identical cups. Instantly drawing it to his lips he could already taste the whiskey.

"Wait a second" Roman ordered, placing a large hand over the rim of Dean's cup halting his drink. "A toast." He raised his cup in the air, not speaking until his friends did the same. "To old friends, new beginnings… and us taking home all the gold tomorrow night." With laughter and joy the three of them 'clinked' cups. Dean caught Seth's eyes and smiled, knocking back his cup. The whiskey coated his tongue, humming with appreciation as the liquid warmed its way down his throat. Just what he needed.

…::::::…

"Thanks man. Keep the change." Dean paid the pizza delivery boy and shut the door, the room instantly filling with the warm cheesy scent. Placing the box on the small wooden table he lifted the lid. The smell growing even more delightful, the whiskey haze making his mouth water at the sight of the circular slice of Italian heaven.

"That smells good!" Seth commented returning from the bathroom to the chorus of a toilet flush. Pulling the hair tie out and letting his dark wavy locks fall to his shoulders. Roman pouring the last remaining amount drink into each cup.

As the three of them dove in like a ravenous pack of dogs Deans cell rumbled in his pocket. Scoffing the hot slice away quickly, burning the roof of his mouth in the prosses, he pulled the device out to see he had a new message from Renee.

[Hope your enjoying your little sleep over]

Dean rolled his eyes.  _'Sleepover? It's not a…'_  Dean looked up from his phone, he considered the pizza that Seth and Roman were now devouring, the two men in sweats and ready for bed, the empty bottle of Jack and some girly flick that was currently playing. Ok, maybe it was a sleepover...

[Your just jealous because I get to braid Reign's hair]

Helping himself to another slice of pizza he took his cup and headed back to bed. Settling himself against the headboard he gobbled down his slice and took a hearty sip of whiskey, the alcohol making him feel light and airy. His attention was fixed on the TV, he hadn't been paying attention to the film currently playing and was quite happy to switch the channel. However, Seth had protested. Repeatedly telling them it was "a 90's classic." So, it stayed on. A door shut, snapping Dean's attention towards the bathroom. Roman had disappeared. Seth knock back his cup and grimace which made Dean smile. He wasn't a fan of whiskey, or any alcohol for that matter. His face screwing up in an adorable scrunchy look of disgust, sticking his tongue out in revulsion. Completely unaware that he was being watched. Dean dragged his blunt nails across his collarbone, a warming sensation filled his body, adding to the already pleasant alcohol-induced warmth. Seth's shirt had been removed. Every curve of his tight muscles outlined by the dingy motel light, making his skin look smooth and soft. Seeing him like this wasn't an odd occurrence, Dean had seen him completely naked in the past in locker rooms, communal showers. But in those circumstances, it's just common courtesy to not stand and stare. But right now, Dean threw all courtesy out the window. He had swapped out of his tight skinny jeans too, opting for a pair of comfy looking 'Black and Brave' sweatpants, hip bones peaking over the top of the elastic waistband. His hair looked soft and luxurious, not soaked with water or greasy with product, but looked natural and full. He was utterly mesmerising. The guy could wear a trash bag and still be the hottest thing in the room. Seth's dark eyes found his and shared a quick and panicked look of puzzlement. "What?" He asked with a mouth full of pizza.

But before Dean could answer with  _'you're so fucking hot'_  Seth's cell phone chimed. Abandoning the slice, Seth dived for his phone with all the eagerness of a child on Christmas morning. Rolling onto their shared bed, his phone held aloft in the air as he tapped away at the screen. Dean resisted the urge to run a finger over his soft skin but continued to watch the man in eager fascination, his joyous expression soon turning sour, his smiling kissable lips cast downward into a disappointed frown.

"What's wrong" Dean slurred

Seth shook his head "s'nothin'," he sighed, attention still firmly on his phone.

"Don't look like nothin'," he slid down the bed, settling on the pillow next to Seth. "You've been lookin' at that thing all night with that same sad look in your eye."

Seth's head rolled to meet Deans gaze. And there it was, that sad hound dog look. Seth dropped his phone to his chest. He smiled unhappily and shook his head, rolling back to stare up at the ceiling. "Jus' some guy."

Dean's heart dropped to his stomach. "A Tinder guy?"

Seth hummed in agreeance. "I told him that I liked him, and I wanted to meet up with him. Now he's giving me the cold shoulder." Seth groaned, punching himself in the forehead. "Why did I tell him that?!"

"Maybe he's busy."

"All day?" Seth questioned. "I messaged him last night  _-urgh-_  I really liked him too." With a heavy sigh Seth closed his eyes, "guess he's just another one added to the pile," he said with such sadness that it overcame Dean's own dejectedness. He hated seeing him so unhappy.

"Well fuck him!" Dean gruffed "You'd be too good for him anyway." He slurred, nudging Seth's shoulder with his own, causing the pair to rock softly on the bed.

Seth chuckled, his warm smile returning. "I missed drunk Dean"

"And he's missed you too," leaning across playfully tapping Seth's cheek with a flat palm. Resting his chin on Seth's shoulder, he was overpowered by a strong mix of fruity body wash and Seth's lingering musk. A scent that he could get lost in if he wasn't careful. "Teach me how to Tinder." He demanded, pulling himself away. "I'll find you another guy to bone."

Seth barked a single laugh. "You want to help me find a guy… on Tinder?" his head lolling to the side once again, the amused half-smile matching the raised suspicious eyebrow.

Dean shrugged, trying to pass it off like it was no big deal. Even though the thought churned his stomach into a bubbling cauldron of resentment. "If it'll make you feel better."

Seth's eyes narrowed as he considered him, trying to gauge if he was serious or not, that adorable half smile unfaltering. "I dunno." Seth adjusted his position and was now sitting cross-legged, phone in his lap.

"Come oooon," he whined, propping himself up on his elbow. "Teach me Tinder,"

A loud snort came from the other side of the room along with the muttered, "I'm telling Renee," as Roman reappeared. Clearly ignoring the comment, Dean scooted closer to observe. Fighting the impulse to rest his head on Seth's closest knee. Digging his chin hard into his upturned palm, he watched Seth scroll through profile after profile way to quickly for him to even register. "What are you looking for exactly?" Dean questioned.

Seth shrugged "I don't really know. If a guy I like catches my eye, I swipe right." He said as he demonstrated with Richard, 28. "Swiping left means I'm not interested."

"A lot of guys seem to be catching your eye" Dean mused as he watched another 3 profiles get a right swipe.

Seth huffed a smile "It's not normally this easy. You have to go through a lot of crap before you find a nice one."

Another profile, Jensen 31. Bright emerald green eyes, hair perfectly perfected in a 'just woke up' look, a small gathering of freckles just above the bridge of his nose and a killer smile. This guy was cute. Seth hummed as he mulled over the new profile, swiping through more of Jensen's pictures. One at a bar with two other guys, one who was much taller and another with jet black hair (who was even cuter than Jensen.) Seth's thumb hovered over the profile, taking too long to decide Dean took over, swiping right for him.

Seth stared dumbfounded down at Dean who offered a nonchalant shrug. "He was cute."

A loud bark of a laugh echoed the room, "I am definitely telling Renee." This time Dean didn't ignore Roman, extending his arm he flipped him the bird, only making the big man laugh more along with Seth.

"What about this one?" Seth engaged, handing Dean his phone willingly. Drawing himself to a seated position, legs stretched out across the bed encroaching on 'Seth's side' he took the phone. Tim, 28. Jet black hair and his olive skin tone gave him the hint of Mexican heritage. He had striking blue eyes that reminded Dean of the colored contacts Roman used to wear. The guy worked out, had a great looking body but as Dean scrolled through more of his photos, the more he was put off. His profile didn't have very much imagination, with every photo of Tim looking damn near identical. A same selfie style picture taken in a mirror, mostly topless. "Nah," Dean said eventually handing the phone back to Seth.

"Seriously?! Look at him!"

"Would you really want to date a dumb jock who could out CrossFit you." Dean leaned across and swiped left so Seth didn't have to. "I've seen his type before, all muscle and no brain... Kinda like Reigns." Ignoring the disgruntled  _"Hey!"_ from across the room. "Guys like that are just selfish and never put out. Trust me."

Seth barked a laugh "Oh right. Like you'd know"

"I know more than you think"

"What's that supposed to mean." Dean offered a small shrug and a small coy smirk. Turning away from Seth he reached for his cup "Wait… no" Dean smirked into his cup as the penny slowly dropped. "You've slept with a guy?" he asked in hushed tones.

"Maybe" he replied, replacing the cup back on the nightstand

"Since when!"

"Well before Renee obviously," he stated matter-of-factly, returning to his original position.

"Yeah, but when? Were we friends?"

"Maybe" he repeated again with a coy smile.

"What the fuck Dean?!" Seth squeaked "You never told me! "Did you know about this?" Turning a full 180 degrees he gawked at Roman.

Wide-eyed and mouth full of pizza the Samoan shot a nervous look at Dean. His wide cautious browns lingering on his friend, waiting for some kind of approval. Which Dean gave in a curt upward nod. "That Dean's Bi? Yeah." He said between chews of pizza.

"WHAT?!" Seth shrieked, spinning violently to stare back at Dean, shaking the bed frame in the processes. Dean flinched away from the high-pitched whine that accompanied a tirade of rambled hurried questions. The pitch so shrill that dogs in a 5-mile radius could hear.

"Dude" Dean chuckled, raising his arms as if to stop the sound "it's no big deal."

"It's totally a big deal Dean." He complained, his voice returning to his usual distinct tone. "I've known you for years and I'm only just finding this out now?!" His pleading browns matching the tone of his voice. Hurt. Dean gulped as he searched for a reason.

"In his defense Seth." Roman piped up, swinging his legs off the bed to sit facing the pair. His knitted fingers balled up in his lap "You guys weren't exactly on speaking terms when  _I_ found out."

"Yeah," Dean reiterated. "And only a hand full of people know. Like I said. No big deal." He rolled off the bed needing to stretch his legs. He had no problems talking about his sexuality, he was proud of who he was, but something in Seth's tone made him uncomfortable, a weird sense of vulnerability creeping up on him.

"How can you say that?" Seth asked quietly

Dean sighed in frustration wishing he would just drop it, scratching the back of his head in an attempt to rid himself of this pent-up anxiety. "I'm attracted to guys and that's it. It's totally hot, and shit, but I'm not as emotionally attracted to them as I am physically. It's as simple as that." He recited the same line word for word, something he had told himself and others for many years. But for the first time, it didn't feel right. He looked at Seth. Those wide hungry eyes making that warm sensation return, engulfing his entire body. The following statement from Roman hammering home his exact thought at that moment.

"Or Maybe you just never found the right guy."

Dean gulped, feeling like he was trying to swallow an apple whole. This was all too much. His breathing became jagged, his heart thudding in his chest as alcohol-fuelled adrenaline raged through him. He reached for his whiskey again but the pack of cigarettes next to his cup caught his eye first. Yes, that's what he needed right now. His arm moved straight passed the cup to the small white box, plastic lighter and his cell phone.

"Yeah," Seth's words sounding echoey and distant. "I mean I'm still looking. It's hard to find a guy, especially in the gay community that wants more than just sex y'know. I mean I thought Daniel might have been different but-"

Deans hand hovered over the doorknob, his mouth suddenly feeling dry. "W-Who?"

"Daniel. The Tinder guy." Seth spoke softly, almost fondly. "I thought that maybe he was different but -"

"I'm going for a smoke," Dean said abruptly before racing outside.

The cool summer night air hit his face as he let go a longing sigh and closed his eyes. Screwing them shut tightly, he pressed his balled-up fists into the sockets.  _'No, no, no!_.' His back found a solid surface sliding down the wall until his ass hit the sidewalk. Opening his eyes again they slowly blurred into focus, only managing to catch odd shapes all bathed in a hideous orange glow thanks to the highway lights. Drawing his knees up to his chest he rested his forehead against his knees.  _'This can't be happening.'_ With a shaky breath, he opened the box, pulling out a slim white stick and trapping the filter between his lips. The lighter flicked into life inside his cupped hand, making his pale skin glow the same orange as he lit the end of his cigarette. The rush of nicotine giving him instant comfort but mixing it with the alcohol haze made his head spin. Adjusting his position slightly, he slides the box and lighter into his left pocket, while from the right pulled out his cell phone. Noticing he had a reply from Renee [OMG so Jealous! That man is hair goals. Hope you boys are behaving x] But replying to her was not his first port of call.

Opening up his apps he scrolled down the various icons until he located the red and white flame. His thumb hovered over the icon for a brief second before tapping it quickly. The Tinder app booted up. At a glance, his homepage was pretty empty, however, he noticed 2 new unread messages.

[Yeah, busy life… Traveling to Brooklyn tomorrow for the big Summer show we do. Stopping over with my best friends beforehand which will be cool.]

[I've been thinking, I know you said it was hard for us to meet up because of our schedules clashing… but what if we worked out something? I really like you Daniel and maybe we could go for dinner or something.]

He knew, he knew exactly what he was doing the moment he downloaded that app, this would be the end game. No matter what stupid spin he put on it. Starting off as a harmless show of solidarity became something so much more. Flirting, talking long into the night, pretending to be someone else, while his girlfriend slept soundly beside him! Dean felt like scum. Scummier, than scum.

Truth be told, he had no idea when they started talking how far this would go. And he sure as hell wasn't expecting the thrill he got from it. That tingling spark he felt in every nerve ending every time he received a new message. And now he was addicted. Like a junkie in desperate need for his fix of attention, and only wanting that fix from him. Knowing all too well that with every high, there was the inevitable come down that would follow. And the longer this charade carried on, the harder it would be. He needed to stop, had to stop. Just uninstall the app and move on. This was the safest option. So why did he insist on writing back with such a ridiculous promise?!

[Hey man, I'm so sorry I never got back to you, hella crazy day. Dinner sounds like a good idea... let's try and figure something out]

[P.s. I like you to Seth… in fact… I like you a lot x]


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Remember me?  
> I'm so sorry boys and girls (and everyone in between) I wanted to get the next 3 chapters out together as they all link up, but it's taking me so long to write 14 (which has now spread into a 2 chapters … possibly 3!) I thought I would give you at least 12/13 
> 
> [[Quick Poll]]  
> If you want me to start posting up chapters after I've written them, let me know. I can't guarantee they'll get out any quicker, but you might at least get one a month lol! (I post them the way I do because it's how read Fanfics. Wait for a load of chapters then binge read a load all at once lol... but I realize not everyone is the same, so if your one of those people let me know :))
> 
> Also, you may have noticed, a lot of my chapters start with song lyrics. Music is a big part of my life and inspires me so much when I'm writing (as I'm sure it does for many people) and I thought I'd share the playlist I created for this series. If you're on Spotify go check it out just search for my username GeekSheek89 (sadly i can't post the link here :()

The door slammed silencing Seth instantly. He blinked a couple of times, staring at the fire escape plan on the back of the motel door. "di – did I say something wrong?" he asked, looking from the wooden entry, through which Dean had disappeared, to Roman. His large shoulders rose and fell in an unsure shrug.

"He just gets awkward talking about this stuff. You know how he is." He answered dismissively. Swinging his large legs back onto the bed. He adjusted the pillow behind him, so he could sit up, picking up his magazine again he flicked through a few glossy pages.

Seth hummed thoughtfully, opting for a more relaxed stance also. He lay on his side, his cheek resting in his upturned hand as he studied the cover of Romans fitness magazine. A cute muscle-bound beach hunk graced the cover. Large surfboard tucked under his arm, and long blond wet locks cascaded over his shoulders. "Have we found out why he's smoking again?"

"Nah," Roman muttered, licking the tip of his finger and flicking over a page. "Don't go asking him either."

"Why not?" Seth questioned, looking from the cover to Roman, his brow furrowing in confusion.

Roman smirked, huffing a single laugh "Because its Dean. The more we bug him, the more he'll just keep on doing it." Sure, Dean could be stubborn as hell at times, but to put his own health in jeopardy? Seth found himself thinking about Dean's habit more and more recently. It wasn't like Dean to give up on something he'd worked so hard to accomplish.

Seth opened his mouth to ask another question but was once again silenced, this time by the vibrating chirp of his cell phone. Reaching for his cell next to him on the bed, he rolled onto his back, phone held aloft in the air. 1 new notification, from Daniel. Seth beamed ear to ear as he read the message. 'He got caught up with work, of course he did.' He was halfway through writing a reply when a second message came through. [P.s. I like you to Seth… in fact… I like you a lot x] Seth felt his heart stop dead in his chest. 'He likes me too?!' He took deep steadying breaths, trying to calm his nerves, knowing all too well that if he was alone right now he would be squealing and dancing around like a teenage girl. He looked across to Roman, to engrossed in his magazine to even notice.

But he couldn't take it anymore, maybe it was the whisky running through him, but he needed to let out his bottled-up excitement. He kicked his legs like an Olympic swimmer as he let out a joyous cackle. Roman flashed a suspicious eyebrow at his friend's mini-outburst as he began to ramble. "Daniel. He wants to meet up. I can't believe it, I thought I'd screwed it up!" Roman rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the article he was reading. Seth payed no notice to his friends' reaction, too overcome with joy to even care. "Oh man, this is amazing," Seth excitedly gushed, sitting bolt upright and crossed legged he typed out a reply.

[You do? I totally thought I'd screwed this up. When do you want to do this?] [lol you haven't screwed up anything handsome. Besides I'd still find you unbearably adorable regardless. I don't know, let's compare schedules for the next couple of weeks and I guess we can go from there]

Seth didn't waste any time, opening his email app scrolling through until he found a brief breakdown of the next month's tour dates. All the while Seth's cheeks ached, his wide toothy grin fortifying his giddiness.

…::::::…

The night was rapidly turning into morning, and Dean still hadn't returned to the room. When his 5-minute smoke break turned into half hour, Seth started to worry. Venturing outside to check on him, confirming his suspicions instantly, he was gone. "He's just gone for a walk. He'll be back." Roman announced, after receiving a text message from the man in question a few minutes later. This was all the convincing Seth needed to prove this was his fault. Seth had overreacted to his news, sent him running scared. Surely Dean couldn't blame him after dropping such heavy news on him like that?

The room its self-was dark now, the only light coming from the small bedside lamp next to Seth's shared bed. The dull yellow glow casting long shadows across the room. Roman grunted softly in his sleep in the bed beside him, eye mask pulled down and covers hoisted up to his chin. Out cold as soon as his head hit the pillow. Seth wished he could do the same, but he didn't feel the slightest bit tired, even if it was 2 in the morning. His mind pre-occupied once again. Feeling like a worried parent, wondering where the hell his tag partner had run off to. Needing to ease his concerns he bit the bullet and finally sent him a text.

[Dude, where you at? You get eaten by coyotes?] Hoping that the light-heartedness wouldn't make him seem so anxious, and to his surprise, the reply was almost instant. [There's No coyotes up here. I'm heading back now]

This made Seth feel a little better, at least he was ok. Another notification from Tinder chimed its way onto the screen, another message from Daniel. They had spent the entire evening (much to Roman's chagrin) messaging each other. Usual boring stuff, 'How was your day? What you up to?' Seth smirking all the while, feeling like they were already dating.

[Shouldn't you be asleep right now? Don't you have a big championship match tomorrow?] His heart warmed, he had remembered. [You just want to get me into bed] [sharing a bed with you?... now there's an idea. Don't think we'd get much sleeping done though :p] Seth smirked, tapping his tongue in between his teeth as that usual warmth grew in his stomach as he typed out a reply [why? what did you have in mind?]

With tiredness starting to finally take a hold of him he placed the phone to the nightstand closest to Roman and slid off the comforter. Pulling back the sheets before settling underneath them, plumping his lumpy yet flat motel pillow and relaxing back. Head resting in his hands, the sheets falling just below his bare pecks as he considered the ceiling.

True to his word, Dean returned. The door swung open as he strolled in, the hood of his black jacket pulled up and over his head and zip fully closed, looking menacing like he was about to rob them. Dropping his hood, he noticed the sleeping Roman. He continued his pace much slower, creeping and shutting the door quietly so as not to wake him.

"How long was I gone?" he asked in a hushed whisper.

Seth shrugged, "a couple hours" he replied in the same casual manner. Even though Seth had been counting down ever since he left the room. All 2 hours and 38 minutes of it.

"Was you waiting up for me?"

Seth shrugged like it was no big deal. When truthfully, he had been. As soon as Roman fell asleep he was practicing what he was going to say to Dean when he returned. 'Hey man, I'm sorry I made such a big thing about you being… y'know.' But each scenario felt forced, and for the first time in his life, he was going to take a page out of his partner's playbook. 'The Book of Winging it: by Dean Ambrose.' "You would have only woken me up when you got back," Seth added, trying to cement his story.

Dean scoffed as he sat on the edge of the bed kicking off his boots. "Dude I've seen you sleep through a freaking earthquake. Me coming back to the room would not have woken you up." The comment was meant as a joke, but Dean didn't sound happy about it. It was brash and hard like they had just come out of a massive argument. Seth gulped, maybe he was really pissed at him. That usual fragrance of stale cigarette smoke lingering around him, intensified as he shrugged off his hooded jacket.

He sighed rubbing his hands over his face, trailing them up and running them through his hair, pulling at his roots slightly as he stretched his back out. Seth sat up, the covers falling further down his body, gathering around his waist, it was now or never. "Are you ok?" Dean cast a glance over his shoulder, his eyes flicking towards Seth's bare chest briefly, before meeting his stare again.

He offered a small smile, "peachy keen." But Seth wasn't convinced, he looked tired, haggard, like a man who hadn't slept in days. Heavy bags drooped under his eyes, his shoulders slouched. Once again everything about him screamed exhaustion. A look that Seth was seeing more and more in his friend recently. Plus, the added rejuvenated habit, Seth didn't need to be a mind reader to know something was off. He cautiously watched Dean push himself off the bed, moving over to his pile of belongings. Grabbing the hem of his t-shirt he pulled it up and off in one swift move, landing on the floor with a soft rustle. His smooth back muscles flexed and rippled as he stretched again. He crouched over his suitcase rummaging around inside, his back angled towards the bed. But Seth continued to stare anyway. Noticing that heavy scar down his shoulder blade and arm, illuminated by the dull cascading light. He was always fascinated by his scars, of which Dean had plenty. How he would retell the story of each one, wearing them with pride, like badges of honor. Seth didn't have any major scars across his body, but then again, Seth never battled in the same kind of matches Dean did in his early career.

"You sure," Seth croaked, "you disappeared on us... And-"

"m'fine" Dean replied bluntly. Not even looking back as he rose to his feet, the metallic rattle of his belt unbuckling pulled Seth's attention away from the man. His throat growing dryer as he heard heavy denim rustle and fall to the floor. Leaning across to Roman's nightstand he retrieved his phone, noticing 1 final message from Daniel.

[You'll see soon enough. Sweet Dreams handsome x x]

"What's got you grinning like a goofball?" Dean asked with a yawn. Seth looked up from his phone, his smile faltering slightly as he took in the sight of his half-naked tag partner. Swapping out his denim jeans for a pair of baggy shorts and nothing more. He pulled back the sheets and slid under the covers beside him. He wasn't surprised by Dean's attire, he had always wore next to nothing when he slept. But being in such close proximity of him made Seth tense, wishing that he had kept his own t-shirt on in compensation.

Seth licked his lips trying to banish old familiar thoughts, concentrating on the bright illumination of his phone screen. "Daniel." He muttered sheepishly, ramming the charger into its socket and resting it on the stand. "He messaged me. We've been talking all night. Roman was kind of pissed and sulked off to bed."

A low chuckle rumbled from his chest as Dean settled down. His chestnut hair splayed over his pillow. Even separated by the distance of the queen-sized bed Seth could feel the chill emanating from Dean's skin from being outside for so long. "So he wasn't ignoring you then?"

"I guess not, he wants to meet up for dinner." Seth settled down on his side of the pillow as the room plunged into darkness, staring out where Roman should be sleeping. However, his eyes were still adjusting and couldn't make anything out.

"Well, I'm happy for you buddy." Dean sighed sleepily.

Something tugged at Seth's insides, Hope? Pride? Admiration? He rolled over, met with the back of Deans head and shoulders. "Really?" Seth questioned, unsure if he was being serious. The fait lingering smell of cigarette smoke hung in the air around him, a scent that Seth was rapidly getting used to.

"Yeah." The muted reply came. "It's nice seeing you smile." Seth straightened his face, trying to prove that he wasn't smiling, not that Dean could see him. Maybe he actually was happy, really was happy, and Dean had noticed, a pleasant warming sensation enveloping the inside of his chest as he lingered on this thought. Dean actually cared. He wanted to hug his partner, hold him close to chase that chill away, but maybe that was slightly too invasive. He considered the wayward curls spread across his partner's pillow. Wanting to run his hands through them, ruffling his already chaotic hair or chase a fingertip down that shoulder scar as he so often wished of doing.

"Hey, I know you don't like talking about it. But. I'm sorry if I freaked you out earlier." Seth paused, trying to gauge Deans reaction. But was hard to tell from looking just at the back of his head "I didn't mean to make a big thing about you – being Bisexual."

He held his breath, almost waiting for a rebuttal. But Dean remained silent. His shoulders tensed as he let out a long annoyed sigh. "You're not the one who needs to apologize"

Seth blinked, several times. Unsure if he heard the quiet confession right. Dean rolled over, the lights from the parking lot streaming through the drapes lit up half of his face in a harsh orange glow. His lips pressed into a soft line as his eyes searched Seth's. "I'm the one who should be sorry." He said softly, his gaze wandering, unable to focus on anything. Seth brow creased in confusion, "I shouldn't have taken off like that."

"It's no big deal" Seth lied with a shrug, hoping it would ease his burden. But Dean shook his head, still unable to look at him.

"No. I feel like a piece of shit." Dean rolled onto his back sharply, staring up at the ceiling. "From day one you were totally open with me about what you… Who you are. And all this time I was just too chicken shit to say." Dean sighed. "You were actually the one person who would have known what I was going through." He chuckled again, but there was no hint of amusement to his laugh at all, he sounded sad.

In that split second, their entire history came crashing through his mind's eye. All those sleepless nights lying awake talking, car rides, seeing the world, every match they shared as the Shield (and as enemies.) A lump formed in his throat, as his mind lingered on one particular memory, one that haunted Seth for years. SummerSlam 2014. Seth lay beaten on the mat trying to craw to his feet. Dean standing tall over him, his face twisted and contorted into a look of pure hatred and anguish. Looming above him and through gritted teeth growled: "I Loved You!"

All this time they both shared that one thing in common. A secret that the outside world could never know. But what if Seth had known sooner, would things have been different? Would the Shield have ever broken up that night, all those little alluring advances, did they actually mean something? And Seth was the one blind to it all! Now Seth felt shit if he had just given him the benefit of the doubt. Not jumped the gun that night, maybe all this could have been so much different.

"But I know now," Seth said trying to lighten both of their moods. Adjusting his weight slightly, shuffling closer. "Don't beat yourself up. It's not that easy coming out."

Dean huffed. "I'm already out. Not many people know, but I don't have to come out again… do I?" His head whipped to the side to look at Seth, eyes wide in a panic. "Is there some kind of gayness test I have to take?"

Seth sniggered, "God I hope not. Pretty sure I'd fail it too." Dean beamed that killer smile as his chest rumbled again with another low chuckle. "We gotta make a promise though," Seth added under a low whisper. Shuffling even closer, his bare chest inches away from his smooth rounded shoulder. "No more secrets between us. We gotta be on the same page from now on, Ok?"

Deans considered Seth for a moment. Eyes wide, before giving him a small nod. Seth rose his fist and without a hesitation, Dean rose his own and bumped knuckles.

…::::::…

The sun rose steadily over the motel parking lot as Seth continued to load the rental. Even at 10 in the morning, it was hot, the sweat rolling down his bare shirtless back as he lugged Romans heavy suitcase into the back of the car, thudding as it hit the floor of the trunk. He glanced up briefly to count the 5 more bags he needed to load, 'we never used to carry this much.' To his left stood Dean, leaning against one of the metal support beams holding the tin roof. He too was shirtless, the white t-shirt thrown casually over one shoulder, dawned in his trademark tattered denim jeans with the rip in the knee. He was facing Seth, but he wasn't sure if he was paying attention to him, his sunglasses completely shielding his eyes, making Seth none the wiser to where his true focus lay.

"You could help you know," Seth remarked mockingly as he hulled his own suitcase into the back of the car.

"You seem to got it covered." Dean offered with a shrug

Seth shook his head smiling as he continued to load the trunk. Dean's body remained still, the only movement came from the small half smirk that pinched upwards. He drew his hand up to take another hearty drag from his cigarette, raising the question that Seth found himself wondering about more often recently. He flashed back to Roman's warning from last night, but the intrigue was too much for him. "When did this start again?" He passed a nervous sideward peek back to his friend who still stood stoic, lips pursing slightly with irritation. When Dean refused to answer he bravely followed it up with, "Or should I ask… why, have you started smoking again?" Seth didn't look up at him, concentrating now on moving Dean's stuff into the trunk.

"You gonna lecture me to?" he asked tersely,

Loading the last bag Seth lowered the hatchback trunk. "No," Seth answered honestly as the trunk lid locked with a soft metallic clunk. Standing at full height he considered his friend. Dean's eyebrow cocked upwards, lips pursed as he took another drag. More than likely to prove a point. With the car keys in hand, he folded his arms, leaning his ass against the hot hatchback. The heat penetrating through his thin knee length shorts. "Jus' curious." He asked with a shrug "I thought you quit"

Dean nodded glumly, "Yep. Two of the worst years of my life," he said light-heartedly. Turning his attention to gaze down at his cigarette, he flicked the filter with his thumb to get rid of the gathering ash.

Seth huffed a half smile and shook his head. "So, why start up again?"

Dean sniffed, rubbed his thumb against his nose as he raised his head, now seemed to be staring off across the parking lot. He offered an offhand shrug, a clear indication that this was a conversation Dean didn't want. Taking a final drag, he flicked the butt away, grinding it into the tarmac with the toe of his boot. Roman was right. "We hittin' the road or what?" He asked in a cloud of smoke as he headed to the passenger side.

"Hey." Seth's hand flicked up, laying his warm clammy palm on his sun heated passing bicep. Dean halted. His entire body tensing rigidly, head angling slightly to stare at Seth's hand. "No more secrets... Remember." His head lifted to meet Seth's gaze, but his hand remained firmly in place. Trying to gauge the man's temperament, searching for eyes that hid behind those dark shades but only catching his own apprehensive reflection. "What's going on?"

He sighed loudly, turning to gaze across the parking lot once again, a small forced smile twitched his lips before turning back to him. "We got more important things to worry about today." He slapped his tag team partner on the shoulder before headed towards 'Shot Gun'.

Seth wasn't convinced, on the outside Dean looked his typical cool, calm and collected self. Like nothing could phase him. But something just wasn't sitting right, he could feel it in his gut. Was he nervous about today? That doesn't seem like Dean. Maybe something at home? He had barely mentioned Renee all evening. "ROMAN!" Dean's voice echoed across the parking lot, snapping Seth out his little train of thought. "Let's get this show on the road."

Roman paced back and forth towards the furthest end of the parking lot, phone glued to his ear talking to his daughter. He held up a single finger asking from a distance for 'one more minute.' As much as Seth despised being alone he had to admit that in a strange cruel way he was fortunate. He couldn't imagine how hard it must be for Roman to leave his wife and kids for weeks at a time. Not seeing his Twin boys grow, take their first steps, not being able to go to any of Jojo's dance recitals, missing the comfort and loving embrace of his wife. Seth ambled round to the driver's door glancing over the roof of the car towards Dean, he was leaning over the open door watching Roman pace and Seth wondered if Dean even realized how lucky he was. He gets to work with his girlfriend, traveling the world together, visiting far off exotic lands, even their Dog comes along for the trips on some occasions. Most of the guys and girls in that locker room would kill for their relationships to be like that. Seth included. 'speaking of relationships.' Seth retrieved his phone eagerly from his shorts pocket as he opened the driver's door. Remembering he still had an unread message from Daniel.

[Good morning handsome. Good luck in your match tonight. I'll be watching routing for my favorite team]

"Daniel?" Dean asked as he slid into the seat beside him and settled down. Seth shot him a surprising look, clutching the phone to his chest, out of habit more than anything. Dean smirked at his astonishment. "You got that stupid goofball look on your face. It's not hard to know who your talking to."

Seth let his smile flourish, relaxing back to read the message again. "He wishes us luck for today" Seth muttered shyly.

Dean hummed "-hmm- that's nice of him." His head resting on the headrest, he stared up at the fabric-clad roof. "So, when are you going on your date?"

That did it, he felt the warming pink tingle in his cheeks, feeling slightly embarrassed. He had made such a big deal of his message last night he went from being hopelessly smitten to crazy stalker in just a few short minutes. "It's not a date. It's just dinner"

"Riiiiight." Dean purred unconvincingly "Dinner and sex. Totally not a date"

"I'm not gonna sleep with him" Seth stated matter-of-factly with an amused scoff.

"What?! You're not?!" Dean's attention shot to Seth, even with his shades on Seth could feel a curious penetrating stare that matched his raised eyebrow. "Damn, you must really like him" he mocked, dodging out the way of Seth's incoming punch.

"Shut up" he chuckled, beaming from ear to ear, his knuckles grazing just the top of his shoulder. "I just want to see where this goes first. He's the first guy I've felt a connection with. Sex just complicates things."

Dean angled his body to study his friend, his brow creasing in suspicion as he peered over the rim of his sunglasses. "You that serious about him?" Ocean blues studied him closely. The question wasn't meant as a joke, nor was it rhetorical. Dean was, what, Shocked? Curious?

"Serious About who?" The car door behind them shut softly as Roman squeezed his large frame into the back seat. Seth completely unaware that the Big guy was heading back over or had even got into the car. "Please tell me you not still on about your Tinder guy?"

"Daniel" Seth corrected him casting a look over his shoulder, "and yes." Roman groaned loudly as he rolled his head back. Turning on the ignition they pulled out the parking lot and onto the empty highway, finally on the road towards Brooklyn. "I just don't want to screw this up." Seth gushed, "I really like him-"

"But Seth, you don't know this guy." Seth ground his teeth, recognizing that disapproving fatherly tone in Romans voice. "He could be anyone. He could be some guy just after your money. Or a 60 something-year-old creep trying to hook up younger guys-" This wasn't anything Seth hadn't heard before, he knew the game he was playing, along with all its flaws and consequences, he didn't need to be told, again. "- some psychopath killer. Hell, it might not even be a guy." A tightening feeling constricted Seth's chest as this serial conversation continued, Roman was right to be concerned. But what other choice did he have? He felt his shoulders sag, no longer really listening to Roman as every word only echoing things Seth had told himself time and time again.

"Lay off him Ro. Let the guy do what he wants." The car fell silent. Seth didn't take his eyes off the road ahead but couldn't help but feel overcome with pride as Dean leaped to his defense, a small grin tugging at his lips. "If he wants to fuck about with strange guys online then let him, who are we to judge." 'Well it started off nice,' but Seth still chuckled. They had come along way.

"Sorry." Roman murmured with a heavy sigh. Pressing a large hand to Seth's shoulder, "I want you to be happy, but I want you to be careful too."

"Ok mom, I'll behave." Seth's eyes darted to the rear-view mirror, seeing Romans concerned expression he tried to lighten the mood. "I won't accept candies from the strange men, nor will I give them my bank details and I'll be home by 11." That did it, the Samoans features softened offering a playful eye roll and a shake of the head as he sunk back into his seat.

The banter remained light and airy between the three of them, just like old times. Making the trip not seem as long as the GPS was suggesting. Seth had a good feeling about today, love life aside. For the first time in years, Seth felt like he was home.


	13. Chapter 13

You gotta play for keeps 'Cause aces tend to stay with dealers  
You got to believe it but I'm a sinner too so I ain't preachin'  
Just keep on dreamin' 'cause all the bad days come for good reasons.

_****Go for Broke - Machine Gun Kelly**** _

* * *

_**August 20** _ _**th** _ _**SummerSlam** _

The crowd hype only added to Dean's agitation. He wanted this now, he wanted those belts. He bounced on his toes, flicking his wrists. His concentration fixed to one particular spot, a splodge of paint in the center of the concrete wall. The locker-room around him practically deserted, just how he liked it. With music blaring through his headphones he drew his arm across his chest, beginning his warm-ups. This was a big night. Not only does he get to prove to the world that the Shield are back and stronger than ever, but, with the capture of those tag titles would cement him with one of the WWE's highest accolade. A Grand Slam Champion. Titles come and go but being known as a Grand Slam was history making. He had never even thought about it until Renee mentioned it. And now, it was all he could think about. Any thought from last night was history. Seth discovering his true sexuality, finally, his little freakout, the lengthy tinder conversation, everything. Gone, like dust in the wind.

A familiar tanned hand waved in front of his eyes spooking him and drawing him back into reality. He pulled out his earphones to study Seth who beamed wildly at him, amused that his arrival had provoked such a reaction. His hair was scraped back into his typical low 'man bun' but what surprised Dean was his ring attire. Swapping out his usual grey ring tights for bright metallic red ones, and matching jacket. Which currently hung open from his shoulders, proudly presenting his bare muscular chest.

"What do you think?" he said extending his arms. Deans eyes locked on his torso, unsure how to answer. "Red, to match the tag titles." he beamed proudly, twisting on the spot, for Dean to get a better look,  _'ooooh, the outfit.'_  "McKenzie did a great job."

"Looks great," Dean mused, "just wondering when the rest of the Power Rangers will get here." He actually looked amazing, Red was definitely a good color on him.

"haha." Seth deadpanned. "Were up next. Here have this." He thrust something into Dean's hands, something black, soft. A hoodie. He unraveled it and held it aloft at arm's length. It was a standard black hooded sweater, but with his DA logo printed on the front, in the same shade of red as Seth's new attire. "We got to look the part, right?"

Dean gazed over the top and smiled. Tossing his phone haphazardly into his bag he followed him out the door, slipping on the pull over as he walked. The warm fluffy inside feeling velvety against his skin, that fresh 'New Hoodie' smell still dwindling in the fabric.

A flurry of activity buzzed around them as they reached the long dark tunnel, Seth rolled his shoulders pacing the small section of space as he focused his mind. Mentally practicing his move set, miming each action along with his train of thought. Dean could watch him prep for a match all day, he was fascinating. A pure creature of habit. Having the same little pre-match rituals for as long as Dean had known him, needing every little thing to be perfect, precise. A strange sense of familiarity took over as he watched. Smiling at his stupidity when he was surprised to see that Seth wasn't in that tactile vest and dressed head to toe in black.

A low malevolent chuckle snuck up behind Dean making him spin full 180 on the spot. Sheamus and Cesaro. Dawned in their matching army style jackets and camouflage kilts, the tag team championships fastened around their waists, watched them both with amused smirks. "Good luck gentlemen." The Swiss man said, his soft drawl sounding more menacing than encouraging. He leaned in close to Dean, catching his own refection in his aviator sunglasses, "you're going to need it." Dean took a single step forward, but a hand clapped across his chest stopping him

"We won't need luck." Seth piped up "Those belts are practically ours. You might as well hand them over now, save you the embarrassment."

"You think your funny Rollins?" The Irish man spoke, glaring at Seth over the rim of his sunglasses. "You two don't stand a chance. You've been a tag team for what… a week?"

"Try 2 years," Seth scoffed with a playful smirk

"And if I'm not mistaken the Shield kicked  _both_  your asses more than once back then too." Dean leered, catching the glint of eagerness in the reflection of Cesaro's shades.

"Ok Guys," their referee interfered, stepping between the two parties, arms extended slightly in a vain attempt to separate the two feuding teams. "Save it for the match." With a disgruntled huff The Bar swanned passed into the dark tunnel, Dean watching until they disappear from view.

Seth Zipped up his power ranger jacket and swiped a bottle of water off a nearby table, bending forward to rinse out half the contents onto his head. The water trickled through his dark locks pooling on the polished concrete floor at his feet before flicking it back like he was in a shampoo commercial. Offering Dean the last half of the bottle, "You ready?" Seth asked, a playful smirk dancing across his face that Dean matched

"Let's do it." Accepting the bottle, he did the same. His light fluffy curls instantly becoming saturated as the water dribbled down his forehead, ears and neck. He shook like a wet dog spraying the wall behind him, shaking loose the wet strands that stuck to his forehead. Downing the last mouthful, he crumpled up the bottle and tossed it into the nearby trash as the unforgiving blare of bagpipes of The Bar's entrance music echoed the arena. They walked in tandem up the dark tunnel towards gorilla position, the only light was a set of stringed bulbs lining the walls casting a dull glow, just bright enough to see the floor. Dean cracked his knuckles and neck as he walked, not stopping until he heard and felt that satisfying crack and shaking his limbs loose. As he shook free all his built-up tension he was surprised to find Seth watching him. "What?"

His friend just smiled. "Jus' feels like old times."

Seth was instructed by a stage hand to make his entrance; the pair shared a double fist bump and brief snapped hug before he climbed the few steps to the entrance. Bouncing on the spot as he waited impatiently behind that black curtain. His dark wet hair flopping against his shoulders with every hop.

_**BURN. IT. DOWN** _

With a flutter of curtain and scream of the crowd, Seth was gone. Dean's turn. He climbed the steps, his nerves starting to get the better of him as he steadied his breathing, flicking his wrists to rid his nervous tension. He too bounced on the spot as his partner had done, shadow boxing the curtain, waiting for his que.

That dirty guitar riff ripped through the arena as the crowd called for him. Bursting through that curtain and stepping onto that stage still filled him with the same adrenaline, the same energy he felt from day one in front of a gymnasium full of 30 people. But tonight, there was that added bonus of excitement. Seth beamed at him, standing tall at the end of the ramp waiting for his tag partner. The pair slid under the bottom rope and stood face to face with The Bar. There features unwavering as Dean stared down the Swiss Cyborg, his own reflection still haunting him in those sunglasses. Cesaro unclipped his championship and held it high above his head, Dean's eyes trailing with it. "That's coming home with me."

…::::::…

1...2…3.

"… _ **And NEW! Tag Team Champions…"**_ Still panting he rose to his knees. The shining silver catching his eye as the Ref handed him the belt, but his attention drew to his partner. Seth clung to his belt like it was the most precious thing he owned, mouth a gape as shock registered across his face. They had Won. Dean laughed as they rose to their feet, his belt held tightly in his hand.

"We did it baby!" he celebrated over the noise. Seth's wide saucer eyes flicked up to his, his surprised expression slowly morphing into adulation.

"You gonna stare at that thing all night?"

Dean snapped from his daydream. Well, more a like a memory. Finally tearing his eyes away from his own reflection, distorted in the engraving on the silver plate, his newly won prize draped across his lap. 1 half of the Tag Team Championship. He looked up, towards the question posed to him from the other end of the locker room. Roman was attaching his tactile vest to his chest, hair still pulled back into a tight pony tail, an amused smirk pinching his cheeks as he looked fondly over at his friend. Dean beamed back, pulling the belt from his lap, and placing gently over his backpack. The night was coming to an end, Roman's match was up next, and Dean had made no effort to change or even shower. To overwhelmed, basking in the moment.

They were met with the flurry of chattering happy co-workers after the match, each one of them giving their congratulations. Accepting a hug with Roman, who beamed like a proud papa bear and even sharing a kiss with Renee, which felt more awkward than romantic in front of an audience. But it was sitting here, in the locker room, when the reality really sunk in. He was a Grand Slam Champion.

Still sat there in his sweat encrusted jeans, hadn't even attempted to unwrap his wrists, nor take off his boots. His tank top, however, was dumped soon after the match, another shirt lost thanks to The Bar. Seth on the other hand… Dean scanned the large room, but his tag partner was nowhere in sight. However, the faint echo of running water from the adjoining shower room ceased. Which would mean he would be back shortly.

"So?" Roman pressed his attention on his leather gauntlets now. "How does it feel to be a Grand Slam Champion?"

Dean hummed a laugh. He had managed to keep his little accomplishment secret from almost everyone… "Did Renee tell you?"

Seth re-entered the locker room, scrubbing his dark hair dry with one towel and a second secured around his waist. His body hair slick with water and smoothed against his tanned skin, while water droplets escaped being dried off and trailed down his strong physique. He padded bare foot across the locker room, still rubbing at his hair as he walked over to his belongings. Which sat next to Dean. Moving from his head he trailed the white fluffy garment down his body, patting and drying his arms, chest. The scent of his minty body wash was almost too enticing for Dean as he drew nearer. He averted his gaze, busying himself with his wrestling boots, finally forcing himself to undress.

"Renee didn't need to tell me man. Were brothers, of course, I'm gonna know this shit!"

A pair of tanned bare feet came into his peripheral vision, after a quick succession of a duffle bag being unzipped and clothing being removed, the towel dropped to the floor. Pooling around his feet. Dean took a sharp intake of breath and he concentrated on his other boot now, slowly untying the laces. "What you guys talking about?" Seth's unmistakable voice asked while he dressed.

"Your boy over here is a Grand Slam champion now," Roman said tersely "and he thought nobody would notice."

A hard hand shoved Dean in the shoulder, jolting him forward. He turned to look at his assailant. Seth towered over him, arms firmly crossed over his bare chest, dressed only in a pair of tight skimpy black boxers. But it was the look of shock and hurt battling across his face that Dean managed to focus on. A look that read, 'What happened to know more secrets!' "Why didn't you tell me!" Seth scolded.

Dean shrugged, unable to look away from his hurt partner. "I dunno," he answered honestly. "Jus' don't like making a big fuss of these things y'know. That's not me."

"On this one occasion bro, your allowed," Roman scoffed. "Quit being so  _Ambrose_  about it!"

"Yeah Dean," Seth added as he pulled on an equally tighter pair of black jeans. "This is huge! We got to go out and celebrate!"

There was a knock at the door, all three men turned to see a fresh faced young intern poke his head into the room. He scanned each man individually, his eyes widening and cheeks flushing when he registered Roman. "F-five minutes Mr Reigns," Roman muttered his thanks and gave the kid a wink. Dean sniggered as the kid disappeared as quickly as he arrived. Remembering being that guy once. Roman advanced on his friends, Seth and Roman embraced first. Sharing a quite muttering of "Good Luck"

Dean rose to his feet and embraced the man too. "Bring that baby home," Dean muttered patting his friends back. As the pair pulled back Dean playfully slapped his face, "you got this," and the pair butted heads. Roman offered a cocky half smile, but there was no humor behind the action. The happy joking Reigns was gone. His face was the image of pure focus, hard lines, and a cold determined stare. With a sharp turn on his heel Roman marched out the locker room, the door slamming shut behind him.

"So." Seth collapsed onto the bench with a thump, the wooden frame creaking as he relaxed back beside his friend, "Drinks?"

Dean crinkled his brow in suspicion, he turned to considered that bright shining stare full of enthusiasm. "You. Of all people… want to go out? On a work night?!" he said slowly, trying to understand the offer. His eyebrow shot up, "who are you and what have you done with the real Davenport?"

"Haha" Seth mocked sarcastically, his beaming grin turning into a sarcastic smirk. "Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Because you're the biggest introvert this side of the east coast"

"wooooow." Elongating the word with a teasing tone. "I'm surprised you know such a big word" he beamed cockily, chuckling as Dean glared and shoved him playfully. "Come on Dean. This is a big night for all of us." He said shoving him back in retaliation, "especially when Roman gets the W later, the Shield boys will be rocking all the gold. Just like old times."

Dean rocked with the motion, not fighting against the harsh shove. He wasn't wrong, tonight was a good night, why shouldn't they go out and celebrate. But as Seth began to drift off into another conversation, Dean only seemed to be focused on one thing. Their knees were now touching.

His hard rounded joint free from protective knee pads butting into Deans, and Seth didn't even seem to notice. To engulfed in his ramblings, leaning back resting against the wall behind them. Dean shuffled his leg closer, desperate to feel more contact, even if there was a Denim clad wall between them.

"-are you even listening," Seth asked breaking Dean's efforts, questioning brown eyes looking over his shoulder towards him.

" _-huh-_  Yeah," Dean scoffed "of course, you were…  _-erm-_ "

Seth sighed rolling his eyes, but he wasn't annoyed. In fact, he smiled, as he returned to gaze out over the locker room. "You have the concentration span of a goldfish."

"You're always talking. How am I supposed to focus on all of it?" Dean relaxed back to, resting up against the wall also trying to not break the physical contact between them. But it was short lived. Seth moved, angling his body towards Dean, drawing the leg up and tucking it underneath himself to get more comfortable. Now his knee was lightly pressing against Dean's thigh. He swallowed as he tried to concentrate hard on the conversation, directing his gaze on one particular ceiling tile.

"I said… we'll get some drinks at the bar in the hotel. Bring Renee, I'll fetch some of the guys and we-"

"I don't want a big thing." Dean moaned "Jus' us and some beers... maybe a whiskey."

"So that's a yes?"

Dean rolled his eyes as he lolled his head towards his partner, who beamed victoriously. He was never one to turn down a night out, but his stomach churned away with an uneasy feeling. If he was totally honest, he just wanted to go back to his room and crash. "Whatever you want princess. If you're paying', I drinkin'"

…::::::::::::…::::::::::::…::::::::::::…::::::::::::…

1...2…3.

"Damn it," Seth curst under his breath. Running his hands over his head exhaled loudly, finally able to relax back into his chair. Roman Lost. A loud clatter echoed the room. Seth didn't flinch as Dean kicked his folded steel chair hard, sending it flying into the nearest wall. The TV proudly portraying Brock Leasner as the defending and victorious Universal Champion.

"Anyone" Dean grumbled, "Anyone would have made a better champion." Dean paced back and forth, his fist clenching and relaxing, scowling eyes looking dead ahead. "That fuckin' part timing…" he trailed off into an inaudible mumble. His shoulders growing ridgid as his disgusted expression contorted, lips pursed, nose scrunched. "How does that lazy piece of shit keep getting away with it?!" He spat loudly pointing at the TV. "It was Roman's fucking time!"

Seth rose to his feet shutting off the locker room TV, all the while keeping a watchful eye on Dean. He continued to patrol the room similar to a caged animal, muttering to himself. He was passionate about this industry and his brothers with in it. If one of them ate a loss, he took that loss with them. Dean kicked a gym bag out of his way as his pacing grew wider, almost the full length of the long empty locker room. "He doesn't even show up every week. We bust our asses day in, day out. And that square headed, jacked up, freakazoid just swans in, takes the gold and fucks off back to whatever shit heap he came from?!"

"Dean" Seth warned softly. He could see where this was going. But it was as if he couldn't hear him (or chose not to.) A cold hard maniacal stare directed towards a singular spot, seeming like he was directing his muttered ramblings at an invisible person sent an unpleasant shiver down Seth's spine. At that moment, he knew he was already on his way to that place.

Deans fist rose to his scalp, clutching at a clump full of dark auburn hair and tugged. "I should go tear him a fucking new one. I could easily-"

"Dean" Seth warned again, a little louder this time. Feeling like a man entering a dangerous animal enclosure with a very unpredictable lion, he stepped closer. But Deans spun away, pacing away from Seth as he continued his tirade.

His hand fell away from his head, clenching and manipulating his fingers slowly, deliberately. "-bash his fucking brains in then we'll see who-"

"AMBROSE!" The lunatic turned to see who dared call his name. His eyes flashed with abhorrence and anger, like lightning on a pitch-black night. Seth couldn't recognize him anymore. But it never stopped him from striding forwards. No fear, not a second thought. Practicing a technique he had been doing for years. Every harsh hard line across his face coming into focus as Seth stepped into his personal space. His hands snapped to Dean's stubborn squared shoulders, feeling like he was trying to lightly squeeze two boulders. "It sucks I know." He continued softly as if he was talking to a frightened animal. "Roman will get his time. Tonight, just wasn't it." Dean's breathing regulated as the harsh stern lines across his face softened. "Let's focus on what we got, ok? New tag champs." Dean's shoulders finally relaxed as his eyes flicked towards his belongings. The red and silver belt hanging over all his possessions with pride. "Besides" Seth continued, as those blues flicked back to his attention, the last of the aggressive fire dying behind them. "You can't go around threatening UFC champions. They'll flat out murder you." Dean let out a small snort of a laugh. He dropped his gaze to the floor with a small chuckle. Crisis averted.

Dean was always known for his short fuse. Seth being on the receiving end of it more than once. Even though these days he seemed to have his temper under control, it was nice to know that Seth's little practice still worked. Dean stepped closer closing the already small gap between them, looking sheepish. Before resting his forehead atop of Seth's shoulder. Not surprised when he heard the small muttered "Sorry" against his collarbone. Like stepping back in time, Seth smiled as his hands slipped limply from his shoulders to cradle around him, enveloping him into a hug. Comforting him with gentle soothing circles across his spine as the warmth of his body pressed lightly against Seth's own,  _'It's ok.'_  Dean sighing loudly, the breath he exhaled warming Seth's shoulder, sending a pleasant shiver over his entire body.

He never spoke about the demons he was battling, he didn't need to, Seth had known him long enough that he could see them. Practically knew them all on a first name basis. And just like always, he was never going to stand idly by and let them win. Taking his friend to whatever dark place they originated from. If that meant his friend needed a hug, who was Seth to deny a simple request?  _Regardless of his feelings._ The smell of his musky scent still lingered in his hair, he hadn't showered after his match but to Seth, it didn't matter. He always smelt good, clean or not. Letting himself smile at the situation before closing his eyes and squeezing him a little tighter, the warmth of Dean pressed up close against him.

The door to the locker room opened startling both men, each stepping back abruptly as a handful of chattering male superstars entered. The show was at its end and everyone was free to go. Seth's heart raced as panic over sued him like he had just been caught doing something they shouldn't. But thankfully, no one seemed to care. Dean created distance between them turning his back and heading to his belongings. Those shoulders looking tense again, as his defensive wall was quickly rebuilt. Keeping his eyes on the floor, he could feel the redness spreading in his cheeks as he followed his partner, who remained stoic like nothing had happened. "C'mon, we should go find Roman," Dean announced, as any traces of the last few minutes evaporated into the ether.

Seth nodded clearing his throat. "Right," he added. Rubbing a hand up the back of his neck feeling guilty. He had no reason to feel in such a way, not from the outside at least. It was just two friends hugging. No big deal. But Seth had enjoyed the intimacy a little too much, and that was a big deal, a very big deal indeed.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are again. Proud of myself for managing to get these up before Christmas and yet still cursing myself for taking so long. *shrug* You win some you lose some. Hope you're sitting comfortably... the next three are long ass chapters lol! ... oh and **SPOILERS** Things are starting to heat up between our boys ;) think of it as my Christmas gift to you!
> 
> Speaking of which, I hope you all have a Happy Holidays whatever it is you cheeky whippets get up to! And I'll see you all in 2019 xXx

The elevator ride was quick down to the lobby, the doors pinging open as soon as it slowed and reached the ground floor and Dean stepped out into the small foyer. The welcome desk, which had been crowded with impatient guests was now free and clear. Clearly making out the two almost identical ladies who sat behind the desk, both dawned in matching uniforms and bright orange fake tans. The bar and restaurant were adjacent to the foyer, and considering it was a Sunday night was very busy. The noise was at a low hubbub, most of the tables occupied by his various co-workers all enjoying a post Pay Per View wined down. Receiving the usual "Congratulations" spiel from them all as he walked through, thanking each one in turn.

He spotted Seth first. Sitting alone by the large window that overlooked the street outside, staring out into the darkness. His chin poised on his balled-up fist lost in his own little world. He was grateful for Seth not making such a big thing out of his little 'episode' earlier. They hadn't talked about it since, nor had he mentioned it to Roman. Old habits die hard. Spotting his own reflection staring back at him in the glass, he was certain Seth could see him approaching. His head whipped around, eyes wide and bright, but instantly crumpling into amusement. "You're still wearing that?!" His eyes focusing on his waist. Or at least the shining silver-plated belt that hung there. Dean point blank refused to take it off. He had showered and changed at the arena, attaching his belt as soon as he buttoned up his jeans. He wasn't opposed to sleeping with it on either.

He beamed, rubbing the metal plate affectionately. "I'm proud of this bad boy, I'm never taking it off." Seth huffed a laugh and rolled his eyes. The chair that sat opposite him jolted backward as Seth kicked it out offering him a seat, which he greatly took. "At least you showered."

"Wheres Reigns?" He asked settling down in the plush bucket chair, adjusting the belt higher so it didn't dig into his crotch.

Seth indicated towards the bar, his larger frame hunched over the wooden top as he placed his order. "How is he?" Dean asked quietly, watching Roman remove his wallet from the back pocket to pay. He had been pretty quiet since the end of the show, barely saying two words to his friends. The only reaction he gave willingly was when they mentioned going out for a beer.  ** _"This is your night. Of course, I'm coming out for a beer!"_**

"A'right," Seth replied in an equally hushed tone. "But I think he's just putting on a typical Roman brave face." Dean sighed, he couldn't say he blamed him, but that 'Brave Face' was becoming a more prominent feature on their friend. It can't be easy being the most hated guy in the fan's eyes. "Where's Renee?"

Dean's focus shifted back to Seth. He had sunk back into his chair, arms raised high above his head as he stretched, giving Dean his real first look at the man since arriving. He had changed again since leaving the arena, no longer wearing the emo band T-shirt and snapback he left in but was now dressed in a smart, black, button-down shirt, the top three buttons of which had purposely been left open. Revealing just a hint of that toned tanned chest that hid beneath. His hair looked a lot neater too, not shoved up hastily into a messy bun, with stray tufts of dark locks wriggling free, but smoothed back and manipulated perfectly into a bun that hung low, sitting in the nape of his neck.

"She didn't want to intrude of boys night."

A small smirk appeared. "Damn, was hoping she could work her Tinder magic again," he murmured. He opened his mouth to say more but was interrupted by 4 beer bottles landing on the table in between them. Roman returned, kicking over a third chair he sat between them. He certainly didn't look like a man who lost a very important match. He smiled pleasantly, the kind of smile that was saved only for the public and corporate events, leaning across the short distance he helped himself to a bottle. Raising it into the air to signal a toast. "Boys, you kicked ass tonight. I'm proud of you both." Seth and Dean helped themselves to a bottle, clinking it against Romans and both watched in amazement as Roman knocked back a large mouthful, almost drowning a good half of his bottle. They exchanged nervous looks with one another before returning their questioning gaze to their third friend.

"You ok Rome?" Dean asked tentatively, knowing full well it was a stupid question, almost regretting it as instantly as he had asked.

"Fine." He replied sharply, but not unpleasantly. That corporate smile still glued to his face, giving Dean a real uneasy feeling.

"You sure?" Seth pressed

"Guys I'm fine. Really. Now shut up and drink your beers. Where's Renee?" Romans smile slipped as he realized their group was missing one.

"She didn't want to intrude on guys night," Dean repeated, knocking back his own drink finally. The taste of the cold hopps instant gratification.

"But. She is one of the guys," Roman jested. "Hell, she can out drink Rollins."

"That's not difficult. Everyone can out drink Rollins" Dean chided, passing a knowing glance to his lightweight tag partner, who offered his middle finger as a rebuttal.

"She's pretty awesome y'know Deano." Roman said resting his bottle back on the table. "you struck lucky with that one."

"Yeah. God knows why she's with you," Seth chuckled, that cocky arrogant smirk growing. A look that used to aggravate Dean no end, but now found pleasant, almost enjoyable.

He let out a single dry laugh as he shook his head, "I don't know whether to laugh or punch you guys in the face," he leered. Trying to convey an air of annoyance, when truthfully, he knew they were right. He knew how incredibly lucky he was, how anybody would give their right arm to be with the woman like Renee. She was perfect, talented, funny, and Dean could never truly understand why she chose him. And yet, his dangerous mind was trying to actively sabotage this wonderful thing. He knocked back another mouthful as Seth and Roman dove into a conversation about some video game, Dean rolling his eyes and instantly switching off.

Adjusting his belt again, he fished out his cell from the pocket of his jeans, hiding the screen under the table, hoping not to get spotted. No new messages or notifications but Dean still unlocked the screen, opening the apps and searched quickly for the little white and red flame. Tinder popped open in an instant. Nothing had changed since he last looked at it, that had been nearly an hour ago but still opened up the last message chain.

[You won! Holy crap that's awesome! Congratulations champ x] [Thanks. Wish I could go out celebrating with you tonight x] [would you wear your belt?] [nah, I only wear it for work… and the bedroom :p ] [and nothing else I hope]

Those same stirring emotions mixing in his stomach again. The want and attention he got from their conversation were like nothing he had ever experienced. He felt so, alive. But at what cost?

He and Seth had a long history, but their relationship had always been platonic. Hadn't it? It was something Dean was starting to question more about lately, one of the many things he thought about during those sleepless nights. What if Dean had come out sooner? Had told Seth the truth from day one. Where would that have led them? Would Seth have left? And what of Renee? If the Shield never broke up, and she wasn't there to help meant his broken heart, would  _they_ have even happened? That thought didn't bear thinking about. He had finally found someone that made him happy. Why was he even contemplating on ruining it?! And for what? It wasn't like he wanted Seth to be his boyfriend or whatever... But then again, he definitely deserved something more than just a quick desperate fuck.

"Hey, no phones at the table Mister." Deans eye shot up, instantly locking the screen. A playful scowl crinkled at Romans features, while Seth hid his snigger behind the neck of his bottle. Feeling all the heat suddenly rise to his face he slipped his phone back into his pocket and picked up his beer. "You're getting worse than he is with that thing," Roman said nodding his head towards Seth. His smile falling away along with the bottle.

"Well if Dean's doing it, and I'm still getting the blame…" slamming his bottle on the table with a defiant thud he also retrieved his phone from his pocket. Ignoring the mumbled cursing from Roman he continued to tap away at the screen. Dean chuckled as he drank from his own bottle again.

"Can't we have a conversation without you ladies checking your retweets every 10 minutes?!" Roman complained, but Seth ignored him. Smiling coyly as he started tapping away. Romans glower turned to Dean, lips pursed. "See what you've done? Now we've lost him"

Dean shrugged cheerily by a way of an apology, but his smile soon slipped. His cell vibrated in his pocket. His eyes darting to Seth, watching him pocket his own device with a smug satisfied grin. Grateful he had left it on silent mode for once but was now eager more than usual to see what (or who) his message was from.

…::::::…

"…And another thing!" Roman added slamming his fist down hard onto the table. The line of empties clanging together musically like an alcoholic windchime. "Where the hell does he get off? Like seriously?! He turns up for work like 3 days a year, and he's our champion?!" Dean sat watching his friend, a smug smirk twitching his lips. He knew it wouldn't be long until mount Reigns erupted. His chin buried deeply into his upturned palm watching his friend rant and rave, finally ridding himself of all the pent-up frustration he had been carrying all night. Roman wasn't drunk by any stretch; his Super Samoan powers would never let him. But give him a couple of beers and he'd start singing like a canary down a mine shaft.

His attention momentarily distracted by the return of Seth, placing 3 new beers in the middle of the table and taking up his seat opposite Dean. Realizing Roman was still deep into his little rant about 'Why Brock Lesnar sucks donkey dick,' he sunk back into his seat, retrieved his cell from his pocket. "I tell ya, there's something fishy going on there. It's like a conspiracy or something." He finished, knocking back his last mouthful of beer.

Dean snickered as he shared a knowing glance across the table at Seth. Watching his friend roll his eyes and sigh loudly. An exasperated expression that was usually only saved for him. "Rome, just let it go a'right. There is no conspiracy" Seth assured him

"Favouritism then," Roman added, an annoyed edge to his tone. Placing his empty bottle with the others. "You explain it to me how that guy gets to be champion."

"Cuz he'd beat the shit out of anyone who'd try to take it away from him?" Dean murmured reaching the short distance to fetch his 3rd beer of the night, the contents of which was almost empty. Pleased when his comment warranted a small smile from the man opposite.

"Something's going on" Roman sulked. Dean smiled, whenever that squared meat head came up in conversation Roman always had the same response. It was no secret that the two didn't get on. Hell, no one liked him. Both he and Seth faced the man on separate occasions and both times they thought the same as Roman, he was lazy, didn't want to put in any effort, and yet he got all the attention, all the belts. "Well, it's getting late, think I might head to my room," Roman announced.

"What?" Seth squeaked "I just bought you a beer!"

Dean checked the time on his phone, 12.26. It wasn't that late. His heart jumped to his throat when he realized he still had an unread message. That little white flame icon sitting patiently in the notification bar at the top of the screen. Knocking back that final mouthful of beer, that pleasant warming buzz making him feel great like he could do anything. He threw caution to the wind and opened the app, heading straight to the new message. Not even attempting to hide his phone.

[You'll have to wait and see x]

Deans eyes cast upwards trying to play down the poignant smirk that toyed at his lips. Seth still trying to persuade Roman to stay until they at least finished their beers, but Dean couldn't concentrate. In his mind's eye, all he could see was Seth, wearing nothing but his title and a suggestive smile. The silver plate positioned proudly over his shoulder with the strap hanging downwards, hiding his modesty. Dean suddenly felt warmer, like a little bubble of excitement burst in his stomach. [fuck… that be so hot x]

"We got work tomorrow boys." Romans stern tone drew Dean back to reality, shaking off any unwarranted thoughts. "Don't stay up too late." Dean wasn't even going to argue that fact as he eyed up his 4th beer. But when Seth finally succumb the pair shared there "g'nights" to Roman as he headed off to bed.

The bartender arrived at the table, collecting the small number of empty bottles, and announcing that the bar is closing soon. "…But you're free to stay in the lounge as long as you wish."

Dean gave a courteous nod to the younger man but was momentarily taken aback by the stunning hazel eyes that glinted back at him. He was gorgeous. Reminding him of a younger, smaller Corey Graves, but way better looking. He was tall, slim, dirty blond hair gelled and styled into a quiff, just the hint of a faint 5 o'clock shadow dusting his chin. Even beneath his light grey hotel uniform, Dean could see the slight muscle frame that was hidden beneath the smart button-down shirt, not to mention the cool looking dragon tattoo that covered his arm, only half visible by his rolled-up sleeve. While the man was very striking, Deans attention was pulled towards another direction, It was clear from his reaction that someone else found him attractive too. Seth's dark eyes widened as he stared intently at the man, those chocolaty browns scanning every inch of him. Chewing on the inside of his lip as he leaned over the table closest to Seth. Dean held back a chuckle, distracting himself by helping the man tidy their table, handing him the last few of the bottles, which warranted a friendly smile and a "thanks" before he wandered off back to the bar. Seth's eyes shamelessly following sute.

Dean finally let go of that laugh. "Eyes back in your head Davenport." He added in a low husky voice, an indecent smirk tugging his lips.

Seth's attention snapped instantly back to the table "What? No - I wasn't" he squeaked defensively, sinking back into his chair.

"Relax, it's fine. He was hot." Dean smirked, reaching for one of the new beers that Seth had bought. Number 4 was the same brand, same taste, but somehow this one was better than the last, enhancing that playful buzz he felt, spreading rapidly across his body.

Seth arched an eyebrow suspiciously shuffling closer to the table. Elbows firmly planted on the wooden surface, chin resting in his upturned palm. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Dean purred. He too shuffled closer, arms folded atop the wooden table, looking from Seth back over to the bartender. He was back behind his bar, stocking shelves and hiding away the expensive liquor. His tight-fitting uniform perfectly outlining his physique as he stretched up high to retrieve the top shelve whiskey's. Dean couldn't help but watch him, he couldn't remember the last time (excluding the man in front of him) he sat and properly checked out a guy. Seth laughed, shattering Dean's concentration. A wide beaming smile tore across his features, shaking his head with amusement. "What?"

"I just..." Seth reached across the table as he helped himself to his beer. "I've known you 6 years, we've lived together, we've traveled the world..." he smiled, knocking back a mouthful. He leaned in closer, his tone just louder than a whisper. "I never thought I would be sitting in a hotel bar checking out guys with you." He chuckled.

Dean watched in silent wonder, Seth didn't drink that often, not anymore. And nowhere near as much as Dean ever did. But he was impressed to see how well he was keeping up, and so far, the beers didn't seem to be affecting him. He smiled and shrugged at his partner "Team bonding?"

Seth smiled, a wide toothy grin, followed by that trademark snickering cackle. ' _God he is so handsome_.' "Pretty sure Sheamus and Cesaro never did this."

"And that's why they lost," Dean said brandishing the lip of the bottle towards his friend, before helping himself to a large swig. "You should go get his number," Dean whispered, regretting his words the moment they left his lips, that uneasy strain pulling at his stomach.

Seth's eyes widened in shock. That dangerously handsome smile falling from his face faster than a blink. "What?! No way!"

"Why not? You think he's hot, right?"

"Yeah… but what if he's not even gay?"

"But, what if he is?" Dean countered "And what if he's single."

Seth looked back over to the bar, Dean following his gaze. Mr. Tall, blond, bartender was busy conversing with another customer, leaning over the wooden counter deep in conversation, "I can't ask him;" Seth concluded, turning his attention back to the table "besides, this is our night."

"I can't go ask him. One of us has gotta bang that hottie"

"Bang that hottie?" Seth repeated in disbelief, followed by an outrageous laugh. "Those are three words I never want to hear out of your mouth ever again." Seth sunk back into his chair, fishing out his cell from his pocket. "I'll just stick to chancing my love life on Tinder." He said waving his phone towards his friend, before unlocking the screen.

"And you really think you're going to find Mr. Right on there?" Dean scoffed indicating to the small cell clutched in Seth's hands as he relaxed back into his own seat.

"No." Seth sighed sadly. "I honestly don't know if I'll ever find anyone." He admitted in a low mumble, his eyes never straying from the illuminated screen.

Dean rolled his eyes, he'd heard it all before. "Oh come on, Don't say that." He assured, picking up his bottle he took another mouthful.

"Dean." Seth offered a shy smile, as velvety browns flicked their attention towards him. "We're working all the time. When I'm not wrestling I'm on the road. Even when I'm home I'm usually at B and B." His eyes felling to the screen again. "Honestly, unless I meet him at the dog park, my chances of meeting Mr. Right are slowly fading…"

Deans concentration fell to Seth's cell, as a playful smirk that developed across the man's features. Trying to quell that little clutch of hope that maybe Seth was reading his reply. "There's always gay bars" he countered idly pretending not to notice Seth tap away at his screen. That playful smirk never faulting with Seth's attention staying firmly on his phone.

Placing his cell face down on the wooden table, he leaned across reaching for his beer. "I've never been to one." He admitted quietly never meeting his gaze.

"WHAT?!" Dean blurted out, slamming his beer bottle down on the table. Seth hushed him, looking around the room to make sure no one else heard his outcry. "I can't believe you've never been to a gay bar. Not even when you went to college?!"

"Nope." Seth shrugged, "I wasn't much of a 'party animal' back then… still not." He added with a small snicker

"but-but" Dean stammered "You tag teamed with Jimmy Jacobs!? The biggest Queen in this industry… he never took you to one?!"

"Oh, he tried," Seth mused mockingly. "Thousands of times. But back then I never like the idea of going out and finding someone to hook-up with." Finally raising his bottle to his lips and taking another long gulp.

"And now you do all your hook-ups through your phone," Dean observed.

"Hey, don't dis Tinder. That thing has seen me get more action in the last few months than I have ever had." Dean's eyebrow quirked upwards, matching his small amused smirk. As if sensing Deans intrigue Seth shifted his gaze slightly, that pink hue returning to his cheeks as he cleared his throat, all embarrassed.  _'god, he was fucking adorable… Did I just call Rollins adorable?!'_  "Davenport isn't exactly known for its thriving gay scene. Not like I can just walk down the street and accidentally bump into someone"

"Which is why you go to the bars to meet guys," Dean stated as if this was obvious.

"But, how good would that look if I get caught walking out of a gay bar?! The shit with Ryan has finally died down, I don't want all that dragging back up."

Ryan! That had been his name. Dean had never met the guy in person, but sure knew all about him. Their stories were the hot gossip of the locker room back in the day. And at the time, Dean found each one utterly hilarious. The rise and fall of Seth Rollins, from backstabbing Authority scumbag to cock sucking cheater. But now, they made him sad. Seth and Ryan's relationship wasn't exactly stable. He was a backstage producer at the time, desperate in any way to get into that limelight, and Seth was his key to it. Everyone knew the guy was only with Seth for his money. The pair argued constantly, but the makeup sex must have been great, because they were always back together the next day, like nothing had ever happened. You couldn't exactly blame Seth for finding comfort in the arms of some other guy. But when Ryan caught them, it was the straw that broke the camel's back… he went, full psycho. Wanted to ruin Seth's career. So, he leaked those pictures, hoping it would cost Seth his job. When in return it cost Ryan his.

"And what if one of these Tinder guys knows who you are? An 'I slept with Seth Rollins' story is going to look way worse on the internet than you sneaking out a bar at 3 am."

His's shoulders slumped, huffing a dry unamused laugh. "Now who sounds like Roman?" He focused on his beer bottle again, tugging at the adhesive label. Dean felt a small tremor under the table as Seth's knee started to bounce, a nervous little tic that the man had. Guess old habits really do die hard.

Dean shook his head realizing his words were probably less comforting than they seemed in his head. He sucked at this mushy crap, Roman was way better at this. "What happened with you and Ryan sucked. But it shouldn't put you off going out and trying to find someone." Seth's jaw tensed and flexed as he concentrated on his cell screen. "He was an asshole and a scumbag for the way he treated you and totally deserved everything he got thrown at him."

That warranted a small smile, his hand running across his defined black-bearded chin. "Thought I was a scumbag." Playful browns glanced up towards him, complimenting the small lopsided smile.

Dean relaxed back with a nonchalant shrug. "You're  _my_  scumbag… it's different." He offered a wink, upgrading Seth's smirk to another beaming grin. Mumbling something incoherent to his beer bottle, that sounded similar to  _"you're an idiot."_

Dean felt bad for the guy. While he sat there mulling over all his own stupid crap, Seth was still picking up the baggage his shitty ex left behind 2 years ago. He wished he could meet him again, just so he could punch him in the face.

As Seth's attention was drawn to his phone again, Dean cast his eye around the room. The lounge was much emptier now since the bar had finished serving, however, a few of their co-workers still sat dotted around. These big joint shows were always the best in Deans mind, it meant that everyone could catch up with friends from the other brand. At the furthest end of the bar sat a group of giggling women. Bayley sat with her best friend Sasha, as they conversed with their two old friends Charlotte and Becky from Smackdown. While over on another nearby table Dean recognized the big balding heads of Gallows and Anderson who were accompanied by the sound of an obnoxious Southern laugh. AJ Styles. A man who had regular run-ins with Dean while he spent time on the blue brand. A man that still rubbed him up the wrong way. However, it was the 4th member of their group that peaked Deans interest. Watching him walk from the bathroom to re-joined the table, taking up the empty seat next to Styles. Tall, lean, killer smile, and with abs that would put a washboard to shame. He ran a hand through his short dark hair as he laughed along with the joke one of the club members shared.

"Hey…" Dean leaned in close again to ask in hushed tones. Seth's wide doe eyes drawn to his attention again. "What about Finn?" he said nodding his head over Seth's shoulder towards the table. Seth following his gaze curiously.

"Balor?" Returning his gaze his face scrunched in confusion. "What about him?" not picking up on Deans train of thought.

"Have you ever thought about - _y'know-_ bumpin' ugly with the Demon?" he waggled his eyebrows suggestively, trapping the tip of his tongue between his teeth

Seth let out a single bark of a laugh. Locking his phone and sliding it back into his pocket he leaned forward, crossing his arms on the table. "Why? Have you?" he asked looking him dead in the eye with an amused arched eyebrow.

Dean shrugged, "I can definitely see the appeal. The smile, the body… the accent. But I'm thinking about you here. He's gay right?"

"And also has a boyfriend," Seth added returning to his original lounging position. His arms stretching up high above his head, pulling and extending his upper body as he yawned. His shirt riding up slightly, giving just the peak of his tanned hips and lower abs. Dean couldn't help but shamelessly stare at the dark-haired happy trail. Gulping forcefully, he tore his eyes away, focusing on his rapidly emptying beer bottle. "Besides… I kinda learned my lesson. Never mix business with pleasure."

Dean scoffed as he rose his bottle to his lips "No, the lesson you should have learned was don't get caught with your pants down."

Seth's stretch ended abruptly. His arms flopping to the arms of his chair, as he gave Dean a dead 'unamused' stare. But he wasn't pissed, a small half smile pinched the corner of his lips. "I don't know." He muttered with a shrug. "The whole thing just put me off dating anyone from work. _-I mean-_ If you break up you still got to see them every day, and if it ends badly…" Seth trailed off, eyes widening as he studied the man sitting in front of him. Dean crossed his arms and raised his brow. "N-not that you and Renee will! … you guys are perfect for each other." He finished with a small squeak, making Dean smile.

"Seth Rollins Ladies and Gentlemen. The king of sticking his own foot in his mouth." Seth groaned hiding his face into his hands, muttering his apology into his palms. "I get it, you got bit by it once. But it shouldn't stop you from going out finding someone though." Seth sulked back into his seat, wiping his beer bottle and knocking back a large mouthful. Dean wanted to do something, anything to get him out of this dating slump. As much as it would pain him to see Seth with another man, seeing him this miserable was much worse. Leaning to the side Dean once again retrieved his cell from his pocket, opening up his internet browser and typing out in the search bar, 'best gay bars in Brooklyn'. Suddenly aware that Seth was leaning across the table to sneak a peek at Deans screen. Along nasally groan escaped the man as he flopped back down in his seat with a thud.

"Come on Dean… I don't-"

"Oooh! There's one a block away" Dean cut him off, excitedly scrolling through the webpage. The Fallen Angel, famous for its Fallen Angel shots. Open till 3 am, 7 days a week. Dean's eyes flicked up towards his tag partner, who looks nowhere near as excited as he was. His hard scowling features studying him, a hand nervously scratching at his beard. "It'll be fun!" He reassured, but this didn't seem to ease his concerns.

Seth's stern expression softened slightly, as he let out a visible and audible sigh. "It won't be when Roman finds out, he'll be mad."

"Then we won't tell him." Dean murmured quietly with a mischievous smirk. Seth jaw tightened and flexed as he scanned his surroundings. His elbow resting on the table surface with his hand cupping around his own chin, fingers stretching up towards his cheek. "We can do some more team bonding." Dean sing-songed. Seth considered him from the corner of his eye, his lips puckering as if considering. "I promise, I won't let anything bad happen, just a couple of drinks. And maybe one of these fallen angel shots that there famous for." Seth shook his head in uncertainty, but the smile that crawled across his tanned features filled Dean with a small glimmer of hope.

"I'm not going so you can set me up with someone."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Dean answered honestly. The thought alone sent a wave of resentment through him. What if Seth did find someone? The idea of seeing him make-out with anyone in front of him was both torturous and arousing. "Just me, you and some team bonding." He offered a playful wink, which won him a small shy smirk. "I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you." Dean's playful facade dropped. Those wide browns carefully measured him once more, as he tapped his long digits against his cheek as if considering the offer.

Seth groaned, his head rolling backward. "Fine, you win – But your title belt stays here. If you lose it you're in trouble."


	15. Chapter 15

' _It's fine. It's just drinks… with Dean... In a gay bar. No big deal.'_ Seth steadied his breath as he leaned against the rail inside the elevator. His clammy hands gripping the golden coated bar as they traveled up to Deans floor. The man himself leaning casually the opposite side of the small elevator as he sipped from the beer bottle intentionally bought for Roman. With a small lopsided smirk and an arched eyebrow, his gaze raked down Seth's body, as if studying him. "It's just a gay bar, not like we're about to jump out a fucking plane." He chuckled. That smile making his dimples pop. He stretched his arm out over the small distance offering him the bottle.

Seth returned the gesture, offering a small nod of thanks and accepted the beer, knocking back a large mouthful of his own. But Deans words did little to soothe his worries. Truth be told it wasn't the idea of going to the bar, he's been to bars and nightclubs thousands of times. And while he hadn't necessarily enjoyed them it never put him off going again. What concerned Seth the most is getting caught, what if someone recognizes them. It's not that he was ashamed, far from it. He was proud of who he was, but he knew not everyone felt the same way, and he really didn't want to be the talk of the internet again. While his bosses covered up his scandal with rumors of a jaded ex- _girlfriend_ leaking the infamous pictures, the world speculated over his sexuality on a regular basis. They still really didn't know who the real Seth Rollins was. And Seth was convinced they weren't ready to know either.

The doors pinged open to Deans floor and the pair stepped out. Seth concentrating on the dull tap, tap, tap of his feet along the carpeted hall. Matching Dean's rhythm perfectly. The man himself strode proudly beside him. Placing a hand on his bicep the pair came to a stop. Cautious ocean blues considered him. "If you really don't want to go-"

"No. I want to." Seth ran a sheepish hand up his bicep, the haunting sensation of Deans fingers still there. "It's about time, right?"

His friend smiled, popping those dimples. Dean stretched his arm out the small distance to wrap a comforting arm around his shoulder, pulling him in for a jostling one-armed hug "you'll be fine" he slurred slightly as they continued to walk. "This is going to be awesome. Trust me." Seth rolled his eyes, now even less convinced about tonight. He was pretty sure that one day trusting Dean Ambrose would be his demise. Making a mental note to make sure somebody knows to write on his tombstone, "Here lies Seth Rollins… I told you it was a bad idea, Ambrose!"

Whipping out a small credit card sized room key the pair came to a stop outside room 318. Sliding the plastic key into the reader the door clicked open, Dean pushing it open just a fraction to call out. "Hey babe, you decent? I brought Seth… Not that he really cares if you're naked, right?" he smirked nudging Seth playfully in his ribs. Rolling his eyes, he followed his tag partner willingly into his hotel room. The room looked identical to his own. The same brown and gold tones running through the color scheme, even the room layout was alike. The bathroom to the left as they entered, bed sitting in the center of the room with a TV attached to the wall opposite, which was currently showing a classic 80's movie. The only obvious difference was this room had a second occupant. Renee sat cross-legged on the bed, TV remote in hand, large bag of chips to her side. Her short blond hair free of her extensions and pulled up into a high ponytail, face rid of any makeup and still looking breathtakingly pretty. Her gazed cast from her boyfriend to Seth and back again, with a perplexed look across her face and cheeks full of chips as she crunched.

"We're going out," Dean announced proudly as he strode into the room. "Just dropping off this." Seth hung back, closing the door softly behind them. Leaning against the door frame of the bathroom, arms crossed across his chest as he watched Dean pinball around the room, unclasping his belt and laying it across his side of the bed. Kicking off his sneakers and trading them for his ankle-high biker boots.

"Going out?" she asked through a mouth full of chips, watching her man flurry around the room. The question was directed towards her boyfriend, but her attention was on Seth, offering him the bag of chips. "Where too?" He stepped forward, helping himself to a handful of potato chips and unceremoniously stuffing them all in his mouth at once, akin to how his tag partner would eat them. Maybe they had been spending too much time together…

"I'm taking Seth to a gay bar," Dean replied so casually like it was the most normal thing in the entire world. Crouching down he reached for his backpack which was tucked away safely under the desk. No doubt Renee's doing, Dean was never this tidy. Seth felt a chill wash over him as Renee considered him with hard eyes, her brow crinkled in confusion, expecting some sort of follow up.

"I've never been to one," he answered reluctantly between chip crunches, unable to meet her eye.

Renee's eyebrow shot up and a large beaming smile drew across her features. "Dean is taking you… to a gay bar?" she chuckled. "boy, I would love to see that!"

He huffed a small laugh and offered her a mere shrug. "His idea"

"I bet it was." She chuckled.

Straightening up he walked towards Seth. "Actually, I need a wizz too," he shimmied passed and into the bathroom, not bothering to shut the door. Seth stepped further into the room, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. Renee patted the empty bed beside her encouraging Seth to sit. He perched carefully on the edge of the bed.

Renee smiled as she ran a hand up his arm. "Just be careful, ok?" While her concern sounded soothing and genuine enough, Seth couldn't help but feel there was a little underlying apprehension to her voice.

"I'll be fine." Dean's voice echoed around the bathroom, closely followed by the sound of him relieving himself… nice to know the man still had zero boundaries.

"Not you!" Renee added a little louder with a slight chuckle. "I'm worried about poor Seth. He's the one that's gotta put up with your stupid drunken ass."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Seth admitted with a sly smirk.

"Is Roman going too?" She asked, seemingly glossing over his comment.

Seth faltered, a nervous hand running up the back of his neck. "He has no idea. He left for bed ages ago"

Her unsettled wide eyes blinked a few times at him. "oh. So… just the two of you?" Something about her tone sent unease crawling up his spine. Like he had just uttered something he shouldn't have. "He's going to be mad when he finds out." She sing-songed mockingly, relaxing back against the headboard to continue flicking through channels.

"That's why we're not going to tell him," Dean added in a similar musical tone followed by the sound of the toilet flush. His eyes drew instantly to him as he sauntered out the small bathroom. Admiring himself in the full-length mirror opposite the bathroom he scrubbed at his hair, manipulating it in a variety of ways. "How do I look?" he asked the mirror.  _'Perfect.'_  Wearing one of those tight-fitting V-neck t-shirts that he seemed to be sporting more of recently. A far cry from the cartoon and logo t-shirts he would usually sport. The jeans he wore looked new also, a much slimmer cut that hugged his legs flawlessly, not as skin tight as Seth often chose to wear but definitely a good look on him. Adding the heavy ankle high biker boots, those mussed-up wayward curls, put the finishing touches on his 'bad boy' image. A look that was always Seth's ultimate weakness. The gays would eat him alive.

Renee hummed thoughtfully as she slid off the bed. "I could go steal some glitter from the Glam Squad." She joked walking the short distance to him, "give you both some war paint." She wrapped her arms around his waist as if claiming what was hers. Making Seth feel even more uncomfortable. He was used to playing the third wheel around Roman and Gina, but this was new territory. He always knew they were a touchy-feely kind of couple, but seeing it first-hand always made him squirm. He drew his attention to the abandoned packet of chips, helping himself to another handful.

"You don't even get this dressed up when  _we_  go out." Seth paused mid-chew, his attention darting back to the couple. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were out looking for trouble." She pursed her lips and eyed him suspiciously in the mirror. Dean turned in her arms to wrap his own around her.

"You're all the trouble I need." She rolled her eyes playfully as he planted a soft peck on her lips. Seth refrained from making gagging noises while trying his hardest to look elsewhere. "Besides," he added raising his arms and flexed his biceps. "I can't help it if everyone finds me irresistible." Renee smacked him playfully in the stomach, Seth chuckling in amusement as Dean crumpled, clutching at his midriff. Selling the injustice like he had just taken a chair shot to the gut.

As much as it pained him to see them together, it was bittersweet. They did make a great couple, one of those pairs that were just destined to be together. While Seth struggled to even find anyone that would be remotely interested in him. He longed for a relationship like theirs. "Maybe you could do something with this…" she ran her slim fingers through his wild brunette curls. Dean pulling back sharply, grabbing at her wrist in defense before she could do any damage.

"You stay away from my hair!" He scolded playfully. Lifting her arms up and away from his head, as she giggled. Seth smirked too, Dean's hair was always a bone of contention, refusing to let it go and embrace the inevitable. "You shut the hell up too!" He pointed an accusing finger towards him, Renee's wrists still held aloft above her head.

…::::::…

Inside was nothing like Seth had expected. It was all bright whites, silvers and chromes. Nothing like the usual dark and dingy dive bars Dean drags them to. One long faux leather seat lined the furthest wall, stretching the length of the building accompanied by an array of different sized tables. All falling short of the dance floor. A large rainbow flag hung like a canopy over the segregated floor, illuminated by the pulsing multi-colored lights. A heavy bassline dropped and the small group of people dancing became livelier with the new upbeat tempo, swaying and gyrating to music that Seth had no clue about. A low raised podium stood beyond the dancefloor, stretching the full length of the designated space. In the furthest darkest corner of the stage at the DJ, hidden behind a large set of decks, leaving the majority of the space open for the professional dancers, who swayed and danced stylishly to the music. The two ladies wore very little, dawned in identical metallic silver bodysuits, that glinted and sparkled under the lights. However, while Seth stood at the bar to order another round of drinks his focus lay on the third and only male dancer. He moved so gracefully it was like he was made of nothing but liquid. He was tall, bleach blond and built, the curve of his muscles shining under the dance lights, coated in what he assumed to be baby oil. And much like his female counterparts, he too wore very little. Nothing more than a pair of tight silver hot pants and large silver angel wings.

Considering Dean said they would only stay for one drink, they were now entering their 3rd round. The alcohol palpable inside his bloodstream, making each limb loose and a pleasant buzz pulse through him. He swayed to the music, finally tearing his eyes away from the dancers to the array of bottles displayed behind the bar. Having completely forgotten what Dean requested, hoping something would jump out at him and jog his memory. But the idea just amused him. He giggled like a child at the mental image of dancing beer bottles, all baying for his attention.

The only male bartender advanced towards Seth, and it took all his willpower not to ogle the poor guy. He, much like the dancer, was stunning. A tight black tank top showed off a perfectly tanned body, with glitter covering every bare inch of his slender frame. Dazzling silver eyes which had to be contact lenses set off by the slightest hint of eyeliner and metallic matching silver eyeshadow. "What can I get you?" His tone was light and airy, matching the astounding smile.

" _-eeerrr-_ " Seth stalled, forcing his brain to kick back in. His eyes scanned the back bar again, trying desperately to find something, anything. His eyes finally landed on the small black chalkboard pinned at the back of the bar. A Cocktail Menu. A small smirk twitched his lips as he read down the funny names. Ordering something called a Sex on the Beach for himself, and for Dean…

"Get. More. Shotsssss." A pair of arms draped over his shoulders, as all 225lbs of his tag partner slumped against his back. The outside chill emanating from his body and the pungent odor of cigarette smoke filled the air around them.

"No." Seth scolded with a groan, lolling his head back to complain. Knowing they had both already had too much. Dean sidled up behind him, pressing his body dangerously close ignoring his partners' complaints and asked the bartender to add two shots of… something… to Seth's bill. The bartender smiled and complied, sliding two clear shot glasses closer to them. Dean reached for his glass. Feeling every inch of his torso press softly against his own Seth's pulse spiked. Trying to clear his mind, he reached for the second glass, clinking it against Deans and knocking it back. He grimaced. The spicy licorice taste burned as it traveled down his throat, the menthol after effect tingling his tongue and lips. Shaking his head violently, in a failed attempt to rid his mouth of the taste he slammed the empty glass on the bar. His partner quietly chuckling behind him as he hit back his own, the pressure against his body momentarily disappearing. Sliding the second empty glass across the damp surface he returned to lean against his partner. Arms still draped over his shoulders, pressing down on him, Deans own chin perched atop his forearm, blatantly aware of every inch of his body pressing up against his back. Trapped, between the bar and an equally intoxicated Ambrose. Frantically trying to ignore his own drunken mind telling him to push out his ass further, just to see what he felt like.  _'Fuck. I need to stop drinking.'_

"The hell is that?" Dean questioned as he noticed the bartender raising the large silver mixer over his shoulder and shaking it vigorously. Finally decanting the bright orange liquid into a tall glass. "Did you order us cocktails?"

Seth gulped. The question was innocent enough, but the dark husky way in which it was asked had him short of breath. "Go back to the table." He said hastily, needing more than anything for Dean to step back. "I'll be over in a sec."

After an agonizingly long pause, those arms slid slowly from Seth's shoulders with a muttered, "you're the boss." As he stepped back all the air escaped his lungs, seemingly letting go of the breath he was subconsciously been holding.

The pretty bartender slid two tall glasses towards him. Seth recognized his Sex on the Beach instantly. The bright orange drink inside a pear-shaped glass, topped with a slice of orange and cute paper umbrella. The second was in a tall slender glass that consisted of three layers of color. The bottom was a clear blue liquid, the middle a deep shade of purple and on top bright pink.

After Seth paid for their cocktails (and the shots) he followed Dean to the opposite side of the bar, away from the dancing crowd towards a cluster of tables and stools. However, Dean had slid passed all these and opted for the last empty U-shaped booth. The bar had 4 booths that Seth could see, each identical with a U-shaped faux leather seat that hugged individual tables, all with a flickering candle sat in the center.  _'How romantic.'_ Dean, to engrossed in his phone, didn't even notice Seth's arrival back at the table. Only looking up when Seth slid into the booth beside him. Their knees inadvertently brushing under the table. He slid the multicolored glass the small distance across the table while Dean studied the drink with a scrunched questioning look.

"It's called a Bi-Tia" Seth chuckled. "It matches your flag." He watched Deans expression morph from complete bewilderment to a beaming smile and a laugh as he reached for his drink. Pinching the black straw between his lips he sucked, Seth finding himself transfixed on those lips.

"It's really good" Dean announced with a smile and small lick of his lips. "Here, try." He slid the glass towards Seth. Pinching the same draw between his own lips Seth sucked, the taste of something sweet… strawberries? instantly filled his mouth. It was really good. Seth's phone buzzed in his pocket. Sliding the drink back over, along with his own for Dean to try, he fished it out. Tinder was calling his attention again. Siding open the app he curiously read the message. Sadly, it wasn't from Daniel but was from some guy, Nath, that he matched with earlier in the day. He crinkled his brow as he read the message. [Are you the hottie hanging out in the Fallen Angel?] A chill cascaded over him. He always hated when this happened, more than once he would match with a guy who was in literal shouting distance away. Making him feel like he was being watched. His eyes darted up from his phone to scan the vicinity, hoping to find the message sender. A tall man leaned casually against the bar, his machine gun grey suit was the perfect complement to his slicked jet-black hair. He tilted his beer bottle towards Seth's direction and offered a sly wink.

"What?" Dean asked, his voice drawing his attention back to the table. Blue eyes considered him in a slow concerned wave trailing across his features. Before his attention flicked across the table, staring out into the bar. His brow creased, and face hardened, along with his casual slouch. "Who's that guy?" Returning his attention back to Nath, he gave a small self-satisfied smirk and flicked them both a wave as he drank from his beer bottle. Deans weight shifted, could feel the tension emanating from him like he was about to leap across the table and deck the guy. Dean was no stranger to a bar fight, but the idea of him leaping to Seth's defense if needed filled him with a sense of pride.

"Relax." Seth chuckled. "He spotted me on Tinder, just got a message from him." Looking back to his phone he hammered out a reply. [Sorry, I'm with someone tonight.]

"Does that happen a lot?" Dean asked, but his composure never softened, even with the eliminated threat. His jaw remained tense as he continued to flash a threatening look towards the guy.

"When we get to the big cities, I tend to get more matches. Just one of them things." Instantly a reply pinged back. Seth opening the message with eager haste [He's lucky. You two look good together.]

Seth stared at his phone reading his reply over and over again. A slow smile crept across his face, cheeks aching. "You better not be bailing on me for a booty call Rollins." His gaze flicked upwards towards an accusing arched eyebrow over the rim of a brightly colored cocktail glass

Seth shook his head sliding his phone back into his pocket, "tonight's about you and me". He reached back across the table to retrieve his drink, noticing Dean had taken a sip from it too. Pinching the straw between his lips he sucked. The harsh bite of the rum hit first, but it was soon soothed by the fruity refreshing orange taste.

"Good," he said sharply. But the coy smile he was trying to conceal made Seth's insides melt. This seemed to put him at ease, playful Ambrose returned as he relaxed back into his seat. "It's my turn for a question anyway." Seth rolled his eyes, hoping that Dean was done playing this silly game. It had started when they arrived at the bar. Seth wanting to know all about him. How he found out he was Bi, who was the first guy he was ever with, who was hotter Chris Hemsworth or Robert Downy Jr. But Dean would only answer if he got to ask just as equally embarrassing and open questions to Seth. "How many guys have you slept with from tinder?" Seth groaned inwardly. It had started off with small questions, but as the more alcohol flowed through them, the cruder the questions became. The pair trying to desperately outdo one another. Until Seth refused to answer, however, Dean had got it covered making up a new rule on the spot. Declaring that any unanswered questions resulted in a dare. Neither had yet to forfeit for a dare, but Seth felt he would be caving any time soon. He ran a hand up the back of his neck pondering his question, trying to calculate mentally. "I don't know," he mused. "15 I guess?"

"15!" Dean gasped in fake horror, his hand flying to his chest. "You whore!"

"Look who's talking. Mr will-fuck-anything-on-two-legs." Dean laughed, nodding in agreement. But Seth didn't laugh, nor did he crack a smile. "Is that bad?"

"Nah." Dean gushed with a dismissive flick of his writs. "As long as it's safe, consensual and you're having fun, what's the harm."

Seth scoffed. "I don't know about fun, grueling more like." Seth retorted honestly as he played with the tiny blue umbrella that floated in his drink. He felt Dean shift beside him again, almost anticipating his next question.

"If you're not enjoying it, then why do it?"

"That's 2 questions." He forced a small smile as he replied dismissively, still unable to meet his gaze.

"I'll skip a turn." Cocking his head to the side he met those wide blues and was taken aback by the look of concerned that was held there. His happy, laughing, rosy-cheeked, drunk Dean of 5 seconds ago had disappeared. Replaced by his worried Shield brother. With a look that read, 'if anyone's hurt you, I'll kick their ass.'

He ran a hand over his dark hair, tightening the low bun that hung just above the nape of his neck. "I don't know." He murmured shyly "I guess I just miss having someone there, having that connection with someone."  _'in other words, I'm lonely'_. Dean had leaned forward, his forearms resting on the table as he considered him, one hand enclosing the other in a fist, expecting a bombardment of more questions. His eyes traveled over him in an uneasy wave but he nodded as if agreeing, understanding. Seth jumped on the opportunity to change the subject. "My turn and I get two questions." He retorted defiantly, pointing an accusing finger at his friend. A small lopsided smile broke out across Dean, with a roll of his hand he waved him on. "When was the last time you slept with a guy?"

Dean's posture remained solid like a stone, but his cheeky lopsided smile evolved into a full fledge dirty smirk. "Last night," he winked.

Seth bit the inside of his mouth, trying hard not to smile, but could feel the warming blush already starting to crawl up his neck. He rolled his eyes. "That's not what I-"

"Honestly, I can't remember." Dean cut him off. "Definitely before I moved to Florida." That mischievous smile wavering as he looked back into his past. "I figured if I was going to start being on TV every week, I needed to cram a lid on that side of who I was."

Seth was taken aback, half expecting some crude, vulgar answer from his friend. But instead felt saddened by his response, that he had to hide who he was for so long. He wanted to ask 'If he missed sleeping with guys', but another more pressing question came to mind. One he had been wondering about all day. "When did you tell Roman?"

That half smile returned to his features, but the look in his eyes was far from happy. His gazed scanned across the bar, unable to meet Seth's eye. After a long pause, and the briefest moment where Seth didn't think he was going to answer, he looked him dead in the eye and replied. "The day you left us." The pit to Seth's stomach opened. He had figured it was recent, that was nearly 3 years ago. Deans eyes drifted to the table, smiling as if remembering a fond memory. "On the car ride to the arena that day. You were fast asleep in the back… we just had that-" Dean trailed off, playing with the paper napkin that lay abandoned next to his drink. Seth's insides felt heavy like he had just swallowed a 10-tonne anvil. He remembers that day too, that falling out before the show, the night before. He remembers it all too well. "I was planning to tell you later that night." And there was the final nail in Seth's coffin of guilt. They say time heals all wounds, but he was starting to wonder if the pain of remorse would ever stop hurting. It had been years, all three of them had moved on to bigger and brighter things, but that night still haunted all of them, hung over them like the foreboding black cloud.

"Who else knows?" Seth asked without even realizing

Dean smiled a bright wide affair, that seemed to have evaporated all thought of the previous question. "That's two questions," he mimicked Seth's earlier rebuttal.

"Fine," he mumbled with a shake of his head, hiding the coy smile behind his cocktail glass. "You can have two questions"

"Well…" Dean extended his hand, flexing each finger as he rattled off a list of names, seemingly counting along with each new addition "…there's Renee obviously, Roman, you, my sister… she kinda caught me with a guy once... That was not a fun conversation." Dean chuckled. "All the guys I've ever been with, that goes without sayin'. Oh… and I guess Jimmy Jacobs."

Seth rested his glass back on to the table as he glared over at his friend. Brow knitting together in a tighter ball of confusion as Dean's dead stare caught him off guard. He knew they worked many shows together back on the Indy circuit, but would never have imagined him sharing something so personal with his old tag partner. "You told Jimmy before me?!"

Deans eyebrow raised slowly, along with a knowing smirk. A look that Seth had seen a thousand times before. That self-assured air that was only reserved for Seth when he would miss the obvious point of the comment. "You're so innocent." he mocked, sipping from his own drink.

Seth scowled at him, unsure what he meant. Then it hit him. His eyes widened, and jaw fell open as he gawked at his offhanded friend. The stark realization smacking him in the face like a cartoon frying pan. "You slept with Jacobs?!"

Dean beamed wide and proud as the penny finally dropped and a low rumbled chuckle escaped his chest. "maybe… once or twice," he shrugged, eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Oh my god." Seth's hand clasped to his mouth, gripping his bearded chin. As the realization dawned on him, a strange mixture of uncertainty and arousal peaked in his stomach. He spoke softly through parted fingers, only loud enough for the occupant next to him to hear. "I slept with him too."

Deans eyes widened at his words, throwing his head back with another loud bark of a laugh "I had poor standards back then. What's your excuse?! Please tell me you were at least drunk!?" he said so animatedly it made Seth smile.

"Yeah." He groaned as he recalled that night. Covering his face with his hands. "We just won the ROH tag belts, went out for a drink to celebrate… and, well…"

"You woke up the next morning covered in bite marks and hickies?" Dean laughed "They don't call him the Zombie Princess for nothing."

"How did he make them so permanent?!" Seth practically shrieked in surprise. "I had to wrestle in a T-shirt for days!" Dean couldn't hide his amusement as he delved into one of his Jacobs sexcapades, a wide toothy grin exposing those boyish dimples. While he told his story, Seth's brain started to work over time. He matched up the timelines of there Indy days, they both had similar starts, reached the peak of their Indy careers at the same time. So, it could theoretically be possible that he and Dean slept with the same guy at roughly the same time. Seth's stomach somersaulted. That idea shouldn't excite him, but that warming sensation spread across his body at the mere the thought of it. "This is to weird." He openly admitted, mimicking the exact thought that ran through his head. "I don't know whether to be horrified or proud were having this conversation." He chuckled taking a hearty sip of his drink.

Another low rumbling chuckle escaped Dean. He leaned forward, resting his chin in his upturned palm. "I could talk about girls if that will make you feel better."

"No way! This is fun." Seth beamed, folding his arms he leaned back into the faux leather eyeing his friend. "Is Jacobs your normal type?"

Dean let out a loud laugh. "You mean horrendously trashy crossdressers? No. I tend to go for the more masculine guy. Someone that can challenge my Alpha male status." He extended his arm to flex. The rounded bicep popping and bulging under his tight t-shirt.

Seth pretended not to be impressed. He scoffed, shaking his head. "Your alpha male status? Dude, just say you like topping, it's easier." He reached forward for his drink and sipped from the straw.

"Actually…" Dean purred thoughtfully "I can't remember the last time I topped a guy… in fact, it might have been Jacobs."

Seth choked. The sharp burn of his drink stinging his throat as he tried to swallow. He could hear Dean snickering as he tried to contain the drink in his mouth from dribbling into his beard. A small white paper napkin fluttered in front of his eyes, Seth swiping at it to attempt to clean himself up. "I-I wasn't expecting that answer," he spluttered with a nervous gurgle. Finally managing to get a lung full of air.

"I figured," Dean replied, seemingly amused. "Sorry. I'll warn you next time," he apologized, offering a dirty smile.

"So you prefer-"?

"I'm pretty versatile," he smirked. "What about you? That's my first question by the way."

Seth grimaced, this question was bound to come up eventually. However, he didn't feel as exposed or defensive as he normally would. "I'm not opposed to bottoming but it's not my favorite." He added slyly "It's just more of a trust thing with me. My first time trying it was the worst. I did not have fun, at all. It never put me off trying again, but just made me more cautious who I did it with. Does that sound weird?"

"No." He replied flatly with a small shake of his head. "For some people, it's a massive step in their relationship. I'm assuming you've only done it with boyfriends right?"

Seth nodded, "and even then, it was like two or three times."

"It's all about how you perceive it," he continued. "Some people love it, some people don't. And if someone tried to push it on you, they're not worth your time." His chest warmed at his sentiment. Not through embarrassment, but a strange pleasant fuzzy feeling that made him grin goofily. He had never really experienced this side of Dean before. He knew he was caring, loyal, but this was different. The side he imagined only Renee got to fully appreciate. Dean met his smile with one of his own. A wide beaming row of teeth made his face look youthful, carefree. He studied his features, his eyes lingering a moment longer than they normally would have, causing Dean to turn away first. His attention drawn back to his drink again as he sipped it through his straw.

"I wished I known sooner." Seth sighed wistfully, watching Deans drink shrink inside the glass.

Pulling away from his straw he licked and smacked his lips in appreciation. His brows pulling tightly together as he scrutinized him. "Why?"

' _Maybe we could have had a chance.'_ Seth scratched at his bearded cheek, not wanting to dwell on that thought. He shrugged, trying to play it as cool as humanly possible. "I don't know. I could have helped you deal with it somehow."

"I'm ok with who I am. I'm not ok with how the world would perceive me." Dean shucked a small laugh. "Where I come from you had two options, either liked girls, or you got the shit kicked out of you. I guess I'm still stuck in that mentality of don't ask don't tell"

"Times are different now. The world is a lot more accepting … mostly."

"I guess." Dean sighed, chasing the thin plastic straw around the glass. "Not that it makes any difference. I'm still dating a woman, right?"

"Of course it makes a difference Dean." He combatted with an air of annoyance to his words. "It's who you are. Besides, if you didn't think it wasn't worth mentioning, you wouldn't have told anyone."

Dean mulled over his words, his index finger tapping incessantly on the glass he clutched in his hand and offered a solemn nod. "I got one more question" he blurted out quickly, clearly wanting to change the subject also. His entire personality changing as those blue eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief as they traveled over Seth's features. "If –hypothetically speaking– you could travel back in time knowing what you do now. Do you think you and I would have hooked up?"

' _Fuck’_


	16. Chapter 16

Seth gulped as he gawked at his partner. There was no mistaking that mischievous trademark smirk that crept across his face, almost expecting him not to answer. Could practically see the barrage of embarrassing dare possibilities ticking through his mind. But two could play this game.

"If things were different then yeah… maybe." Deans eyebrows shot skywards, his smile deepening making those dimples crease. "Although back then I had a boyfriend… and I wasn't about the casual hookups." Seth looked him dead in the eye, a knowing smirk teasing his lips.

A thoughtful hand ran over Deans' chin as he considered his answer, that smile never wavering. "And what about now Mr. King of Tinder. Would we still hook up?" he leaned in closer. His tongue trapped playfully between his teeth.

"You've had your 2 questions." Refusing to be the one to break the staring contest, Seth folded his arms stubbornly across his chest. This was always Dean's favorite game to play.  _"How uncomfortable can I make Rollins?"_  While once upon a time Seth would have easily fell victim to his silly childish games, Seth knew better now and wasn't going to let him get the win, not this time. Maybe it was the alcohol running through him giving him a new surge of confidence, but he refused to give Dean any gratification. "I'm not answering."

"Why not? Worried you'll hurt my feelings?" like a confused puppy, he cocked his head to the side, that dirty, sexy smirk never changing.

"I'm not playing your games, Dean," Seth stated, determined to keep a calm composure.

Dean let out a loud bark of a laugh. "It's hypothetically. Not like we haven't kissed already"

"Twice. If I'm not mistaken" Seth mumbled, leaning forward to fetch his drink.

The seat beside him shifted as Dean moved his weight. "They always say third times the charm." He purred. Sliding along the U-shaped booth closer to him. "Come on Davenport, humor me." He suggested. Seth sucked through the thin plastic straw, concentrating all his attention on the orange liquid in the glass. "Imagine I was one of your Tinder dates. Would you swipe left, or right?"

"That's 3 questions," Seth answered strongly, the straw falling from his mouth as he placed the glass back on the table. Refusing to meet his eye. "I'm not giving you the satisfaction." Seth remained strong, feeling proud of himself he re-folded his arms, laying them across his chest. Although he felt his treacherous insides coming unraveled at such close proximity of this man. He had to know he was playing a dangerous game… right? Dean brushed up against his shoulder, and the sudden feeling of Seth's willpower was about to become undone. Feeling like every last inch of it was sucked from his psyche. His pulse spiked as a gentle caress grazed the side of his face and neck, brushing away a stray hair and tucked behind his ear.

"I'd give you satisfaction." Deans deep gravely tone ghosted in a near-whisper over the shell of Seth's ear. The warmth of his breath and intensity of his words match that of the fire that was igniting deep within his core. His breath caught in his throat as the tip of Dean's finger trailed across his neck, and down his solid muscular bicep. Feeling like he was being suffocated with the sweet burning torcher, afraid to look him in the eye. Knew that embarrassed blush was spreading across his cheeks as he ground his teeth together. Dean chuckled "Gottchya." His usual playful teasing voice returned and chiming in his ears. His hand moved swiftly away. Seth felt like he had just been dipped into ice water, the sudden biting shock drowning him as he realized, he had lost.  _'fucking Ambrose'_. Swiping the orange slice perched on the rim of Seth's glass Dean pushed himself back to his original position. "I'll hand it to you… you made me work for it that time." He said as he sucked at the fruit slice.

In frustration, Seth plucked the straw from his drink and launched it across the table like a dart. Dean swatting it out the air with the back of his hand laughing. "You're the fuckin' worst!" Seth cursed.

Dean just offered a casual shrug, kicking his boots up onto the seat beside him as he lounged across the curve of the U, hands resting atop his head. "Its why you love me." Seth's jaw ticked as he watched his friend chew  _his_  orange slice, but he wasn't wrong, as much as he annoyed and left him with blue balls… he wouldn't change him for the world.

…::::::…

Until this point, Seth had felt fine, better than fine. He felt great! Proud that he was able to keep up with Dean drink for drink. Was pleasantly buzzed, the alcohol making his face and limbs numb, a feeling of pure euphoria. That was until they stepped outside.

It was getting late and the bar was less than an hour away from closing when the pair stumbled back out into the Brooklyn street. He stepped down from the concrete stoop and immediately started to sway. "Woah, easy their cowboy." Dean caught him, with one arm around his stomach and the other clutching at his shoulder. His head swimming, he wanted to collapse into Deans strong arms. He shivered at how close their bodies were, pressing his head against his shoulder before he was even aware he'd done it. "You ok?" Dean asked, his gentle hand rubbing slowly up and down his back soothing him.

Seth nodded into the crook of his neck offering a small muffled groan of agreement. Lost in the smell of his spicy body wash, battered leather, and cigarette smoke. A smell that Seth was so used to, but never got the opportunity to really appreciate.

"I think I've drunk too much," he admitted, murmuring into his shoulder.

A deep chuckle rumbled through Deans body. "Come on, let's get you to bed." Slinking his arm across his shoulders he encouraged Seth to walk forcing him to stand up straight. The pavement swaying slightly with every step they took. Dean draped an arm across his shoulders, pulling him in close as they walked. Grateful that Dean was offering him a crutch, make up for all those times he and Roman had to assist him after a night out. His own arm snaking around his back. Gripping a fist full of his shirt just above his waist, for stability more than anything. Dean didn't react, he just let Seth grip onto him, let him rest his weight.

"We should probably get some food in you," Dean murmured. "Your gonna feel like shit tomorrow"

"I can handle it" Seth replied defiantly. Even though his stomach growled in disagreement.  _'Traitor'_

The further they walked from the bar, the more stable Seth became on his legs. The world around him still span violently but at least he could walk without Dean's assistance. Sensing this also Dean's hand slipped from his shoulder and delved deep into his jeans pocket. Retrieving the square pack of cigarettes. Seth shook his head as Dean lifted the white stick to his mouth, pressing the filter between his lips. The flame from the small plastic lighter burnt the end. "Quit judgin' me," Dean complained as a billow of smoke clouded around him and evaporated into the night's sky.

Seth folded his arms across his chest. "I can judge you all I like. Especially if you insist on smoking," he slurred.

"Hey! I'm a grown ass man. I can do what I want."

"Oh really?... Is that why you haven't told Renee?" Dean glared at him from the corner of his eye, but a small knowing smile tweaked his lips followed by a small shake of his head. This was what Seth missed, that closeness that the pair shared, the constant ribbing, teasing as brothers would. He watched in almost awe as Dean rose that cigarette to his lips again and a brief but shocking though traveled through his mind. One that surely, he would only ever conjure as the result of the alcohol pairing his judgment. He wanted to know what it felt like, tasted like, an unusual urge overpowered him, he wanted to try. Deans lips puckered around the filter as he took another deep inhale. "I've never smoked a cigarette before."

A sarcastic bark of a laugh rang in his ear as if that statement wasn't obvious. The smoke bursting from his mouth not as elegantly as he was used to seeing, but more in an explosion of smoke. "Why am I not surprised." His arm shot to Seth's shoulder again, pulling him in for a jostling hug. "It's why I love you Davenport. Always so innocent."

"Innocent?!" he scoffed a laugh. "I'm far from innocent Ambrose."

"Compared to me you're a fucking saint."

Seth frowned, he didn't appreciate Dean's mocking tone. He could be reckless when he wanted to be! Who was he to judge?! "What does it taste like?"

"Like burning and regret," Dean smirked, his forearm slipping forward to hang loosely over Seth's collarbone.

"I wanna try."

Dean considered him for a moment, slowing his pace. His jaw rocked side to side like he was mulling over the options. Seth's gaze never left the intriguing thin white stick, ash gathering atop the thin burn line as it ate its way down the paper. "You sure?" Dean's voice was low, his thumb casually flicking the filter to rid that gathering ash. Their pace slowing before coming to a complete stop.

Seth nodded slowly as he swallowed. In one swift movement, Dean's cigarette shifted and was now pinched between his thumb and index finger by the filter. Extending his arm the short distance he offered Seth the thin white stick to hold for him. Tentatively and unsure he accepted. Realizing that this was the first time he had even held a cigarette. He twisted his hand to examine the stick from all sides. Wisps of smoke snaking from the red glowing tip vanished just as quickly as they appeared. " _-um-_  how do I-"?

Dean chuckled slightly, an amused look dancing across his face, could almost hear the  _'so innocent'_  rolling around his head. "Just suck. Like your drinking through a straw, but not too much. You take it too far back and it will make you choke. Just let the smoke linger in your mouth a little." Seth licked his lips in anticipation as alcohol influenced excitement raged through him. ' _Mom would kill me if she knew.'_  Shakily Seth raised his arm and willingly opened his mouth to accept. His fingers pressed softly against his lips as if he was kissing them. He sucked. His mouth instantly filling with a strange musky taste. He was right, it did taste like burning, like dried scorched paper. The smoke hit the back of his throat, the burning sensation made Seth splutter. The smoke escaping his mouth nowhere near as elegantly as Dean had perfected.

Dean chuckled. A gentle hand patting Seth between the shoulders as he continued to cough up a lung. "That tasted like shit" he croaked, his throat feeling raw like someone had just scraped the coarsest sandpaper over it.

"Told you not to take it all the way back" Dean smiled. Of course, he found the whole situation funny. As if to demonstrate his prowess, Dean slid the stick from his fingers and took a deep drag before blowing the smoke above both their heads, continuing their walk to the hotel.

There was no nippy wind traveling through the warm Brooklyn night, and nor did he himself feel a chill. But the lack of body, pressed so close to him made Seth cold, longing for more. That physical contact felt good and he missed it a little too much. That arm draped back over Seth's shoulders automatically, as if he was reading his mind, leaning in closer and planting a kiss to his thick mass of dark hair. "I love ya Davenport," he stifled a chuckle. "Don't ever change."

Warming filled his chest as he smiled wanting more of that bodily connection, he sidled up close, wanting to get as physically close to him as possible. His own arm snaking around, tailing his hand happily across Deans defined back "Love you too Ambrose, even if you did try and kill me." he croaked. His throat still feeling like it was on fire.

"Oh, trust me. You'd know if I was trying to kill you." A smile widened across his face as he gave Seth a light squeeze, pressing their bodies even closer almost taking his breath away.

The bright lights and corporate logo of their hotel sat dead ahead of them. "I'm glad we did this. I had fun tonight." Seth slurred. His grip on Dean's shirt loosened as his hand slipped lower, fingers splayed across his denim-clad hip. The rational part of his brain seemed so quiet and distant. He knew he should move his hand, knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help himself. He wanted more contact, needed more.

Taking a final drag of his cigarette, he flicked the filter into the road. Blowing the smoke away from the pair of them. "Me too" Dean purred, giving his shoulder another tight squeeze and rubbing it affectionately. "I've missed this. I've missed you."

"You goin' soft on me Ambrose?" Seth turned to look at his friend, that bright dazzling smile had returned. the kind of smile that lit up his whole face.

"Shut up." he murmured, nudging him playfully with his shoulder.

Anybody that was to pass them by could have easily thought they were together. Dean's hand hanging limply across his shoulder over Seth's collarbone, while Seth himself practically had one hand snaking into Dean's jean pocket. Something about this excited Seth. The pair had always been close, but this felt like new territory and he wanted to preserve this moment for as long as he possibly could.

"You never did answer my question earlier" Dean mused. Seth tried to recall any unanswered questions in that stupid game they were playing. But all he could focus on was his hand, toying with the denim belt hoop on Dean's hip. When Seth never responded Dean followed it up with, "If you came across me on Tinder. Would you swipe left, or right?"

Seth rolled his eyes. "I told you I wasn't going to answer"

"Come on Rollins. I'd tell you," he replied, almost sounding hurt.

"Fine. What would you do"

Without even pausing to think of his answer, he replied, "I'd swipe right so hard on you, I'd end up flicking my phone across the room."

Seth let out a guffawed laugh. "You're ridiculous."

"It's true. There's no way I'd turn down a mad night of passion with you." Seth's throat suddenly felt dry.  _'Mad night of passion?!'_  "Your turn"

It took Seth a moment to compose himself, playing it off like he was trying to think about his answer. "I suppose I'd swipe right on you. But only because it be rude not to on a friend"

"What if we never met?"

"Oh, in that case, I'd dump you as quickly as I could." Seth joked, unable to hide his proud smirk.

Dean was silent for a beat, and Seth wondered if he thought he was being serious, but the light snigger suggested otherwise. "Your such a fuckin' tease"

"Hey, you want this you gotta work for it."

Dean hummed while he nodded in agreement, "I guess I'll just have to show you what your missing then." Leaning closer, he murmured in his ear. "Give you my full undivided attention. Show you what I can really do." His warm voice ran smooth like silk, sending a playful shudder through his entire body. Was he being serious? Seth drew back his hand reluctantly as they reached the automatic glass sliding doors of their hotel. Dean's arm slipped from his shoulder, however, his hand traveled lower. Resting his palm on his lower back as he guided them through the doors. "Third time  _is_  always the charm." He purred into his ear, his warm breath ghosting over his lobe and neck. Trying to act as casual as possible Seth walked across the lobby, trying to ignore the warmth that spread through him. Aware of Dean's thumb skirting across the waistband of his jeans, teasing the small patch of bare skin where his shirt had ridden up. Game or not, this was a bad idea.

His hand never left his side, in fact, it snaked around to his waist as they walked across the lobby, footsteps echoing across the marble floor. Fingertips teasingly never leaving his bare skin. This felt good. So good in fact it caused his body to react. His muscles tightened as heat rushed southwards. Painfully aware that blue eyes bore deep into the side of his head waiting for any kind of response. Seth licked his lips, afraid to look, afraid of what he might do, but enjoying the sensations nonetheless, as wrong as they were. Maybe it was time to give him a taste of his own medicine. His head slowly turned to look, that devilish smirk stretched ear to ear once again. Two can play this game. Reaching the elevator Seth pressed the call button before turning his attention to the tempter beside him.

"Ok, Mr. Big shot," Seth smirked. Stepping closer into Dean's personal space, staring him dead in the eye. Brushing up his arm he leaned in close, purposely brushed one of his nipples as he used his hand to stabilize himself on his chest. The effect bud from the night air making them impossible to miss. His amused smirk slid from his face at the same speed as his hand from Seth's waist. Brunette curls fell haphazardly over his forehead, obstructing those wide ocean colored eyes. He drew in a short shaking breath. The sound alone brushing through Seth's entire body, making him want more. "Prove it." He whispered, deep into his ear. Could feel the goosebumps rise across his own body. This wasn't meant to be turning  _him_  on!

Seth drew back, removing his hands as he straightened himself up. Dean's gaze faltered, flitting between his penetrating gaze and arched eyebrow and his ready moistened lips. As if something came alive in his eyes, a primal burning desire that he had never seen before in his friend. And for a brief, desperate, exciting second, Seth thought he might take him up on the offer.

The door beside them pinged open to an empty carriage. Stepping inside Seth felt his entire body trembling, feeling the unbridled electricity in the air between them. Pressing two buttons on the illuminated controls, one to Dean's floor, one to his own he could feel his body was unbearably close. No sooner had the doors shut and the elevator started to move, their lips met. Pushing Seth hard up against the wall, his near full weight bearing down on him as their rough kiss deepened. His normal instinct would be to fight back, to be in control. But he was more than happy to let Dean do all the work. Fingertips teasing up under his shirt, leaving white hot trails down his bare skin, his back, his sides. His own hands wrapping themselves in his hair, tangling in those brunet locks he loved, pulling him even closer, the scratch of his beard against his own, the lingering taste of strawberries and cigarettes on his breath all added to his jeans growing increasingly tight _._

Dean snapped back with a sharp painful inhale. Wide terrified eyes stared as his chest rose and fell with every panicked breath. One of those hand that had been teasing his bare skin, now ran up the side of his face into those curls, grabbing a fist full and pulling at the roots. "I'm-" he tried to gasp, but the intrusion of the door opening to his floor distracted him. As quick as a flash, he was gone. Seth remained still glued to the wall, unable to move.

…::::::…

His pounding head woke him with a start. Seth grimaced, flinching away from the bright morning sunshine that streamed through the open blinds from his hotel window. He slapped his dry lips together, desperate for water. His throat feeling as dry as the Arizona desert with the taste of something foul lingering on his breath. Reaching for his cell phone as the incessant pounding came again. However, it hadn't been his throbbing head that had woken him. It was the intense beatdown of his hotel room door, matching the painful tempo that thrummed through his head perfectly. Unlocking the screen on his cell he checked the time, 9.36am.  _'Shit'_

"Rollins?" Romans' voice boomed the other side of the door as he beat against the wood again.

Groaning as he stretched, he replaced his phone on the nightstand and swung his legs out of bed. The sudden movement added more pain to his pounding head, resting his face in his hands as his stomach churned. ' _I'm getting too old for this_.' Roman continued to hammer down the door with such force Seth was convinced he was going to break through. Each slow deafening pound feeling like a nail was being driven through Seth's frontal lobe. "Alright, Reigns!" Seth yelled back with a groggy nasally plea, silencing the hammering. That dull throb destroying his head as he pushed himself off the bed. "Jeez," he murmured as he pushed himself from the bed examining the state of his room. Various articles of clothing lay strewn across the floor, his jeans, shirt, shoes all trailing from the door. His suitcase flung open with the contents in a disorganized array. Not how he left it before he went out last night. Even his new shiny belt had been relocated, lying next to him on the large king size bed. Stepping over his disarray of clothes and possessions, he scratched at his bare chest shuffling like a zombie towards the door.

Roman did not look pleased. His lips pressed into a solid line as his dark eyes bore into Seth. Similar to a displeased parent. His eyebrows arched as if waiting for an explanation. "Good-mornin'. Have a good night?" He started with a mocking snide tone.

Seth stepped aside with a groan, rubbing a hand up his nose to his forehead, applying the slightest bit of pressure, hoping it would help ease the pain. It didn't. The delightful smell of fresh coffee wafted passed as Roman sauntered into the room, letting the door close behind him. "Thought you might need these." Handing Seth the warm paper cup and a small white bottle of aspirin.

"Thanks" Seth murmured, inhaling the delightful smell. However, his stomach had other ideas, giving another uneasy lurch. Placing the coffee on the nearest surface Seth wandered blearily into the bathroom. Tugging at the pull cord the small tiled space filled with a bright dazzling light that hurt Seth's eyes. Revealing the hideous mess that was his reflection in the mirror over the sink. His usual tanned complexion looked pale and sickly, with heavy dark bags under his eyes. His hair looked wild and unkempt, tangled in the hair tie he never removed before he fell asleep last night. Picking up a glass that sat next to the sink, he filled it to the top with water and downed it in one, it hit his stomach and gave another uncomfortable gurgle. Filling up a second glass he popped open the tube. Swallowing two of the small white pills, along with another mouth full of water he gripped the edge of the sink and screwed his eyes shut. Preying that they stay down as his gut churned and bubbled aggressively.

"The hell happened in here?" Roman asked, his deep voice echoing around the small bathroom. "Looks like Ambrose's room." Seth's eyes never left the mirror. He watched his reflection change from a groggy hungover mess to a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck. In less than a microsecond last night's actions came rushing back to his foremind. His insides gave another uneasy lurch, but not because he was about to puke. His entire body fell cold as the night came flooding back to him. His shameless flirting, practically throwing himself at the man, his hands all over his body. The kiss. Suddenly his aching head didn't seem so bad anymore.  _'Holy fuck that kiss.'_ He filled the sink with warm water and began to splash his face, running his hands nervously through his messy hair, trying to free it from the tie. "Did you get lucky last night or something?"

"What?!" Seth's attention snapped instantly to Roman. Who was now leaning against the doorframe to the bathroom, with a self-assured smirk and raised a questioning eyebrow?

He gestured to Seth's new floor wardrobe, "Looks like to had someone back here and wanted to get undressed quickly. Not like you to make a mess." He chuckled lightly.

_ 'A mess? Yeah, I'm in one hell of a mess.' _  "No." he mumbled into the palms as he rubbed the tiredness from his face. "Jus' drinks with Ambrose. I'm just gonna grab a quick shower."

Roman rolled his eyes, pushing himself off the door frame. "Make it quick, we gotta leave in 30."

He headed over to the bathtub, pulling back the shower curtain and turned on the faucet, water spluttered out the shower head. Ridding himself of his boxer briefs, he stepped under the water. The warmth felt comforting as he stood there, not washing, not moving. Just letting the water embrace his body. ' _How did I let this happen?'_

"Where did you go last night?" Romans' voice seemed much more distant now, as he moved back into the main room.

"Go where?"

"Ambrose told me he took you to a gay bar." Seth rolled his eyes,  _'So much for don't tell Roman.'_  "Or more rather let it slip." He chuckled lightly "That guy has hella loose lips when he gets a few in him."

_ 'You can say that again.' _  Seth scoffed, smirking to himself. But instantly regretted the thought as the shame enveloped him again. His head crashed onto the cold white tiles of the bathroom wall; closing his eyes letting the warm water run down his back,  _'those fucking lips… God damn.'_  His best friend was an incredible kisser. He picked at the grout in-between the tiles as he replayed the kiss over and over again in his head, imagining different scenarios, ' _what if we never stopped, what if he followed me back here.'_ Could practically envision Dean naked and squirming in pleasure under him, running his hands over him. The feel of his tight body against his own –  _'What about Renee?!'_ His mind practically screamed at him. Drawing him back to the reality and gravitas of the situation. ' _He has a girlfriend. A girlfriend that you work with, a girlfriend that you see every week. A girlfriend that has been there for the past 3 years. Who picked up all his shattered pieces after you broke him!'_  The guilt tugging on his insides, it was the first time he had even registered her existence. Seth screwed his eyes shut as he repeatedly banged his head against the tiled wall.  _'It's all over. He's never gonna want to talk to you again.'_  Seth's stomach lurched again but this time the worrying warm motion continued to travel upwards. Dropping to his knees over the shower drain, Seth puked. The sour bile burning his mouth and throat, his muscles ablaze with the convulsions. Nothing he didn't deserve. When sure he had rid his stomach of every last drop, he shimmied back shivering. Sitting in the bathtub under the warm stream of water, rolling his head back to rinse his mouth out. His legs pulled tightly to his chest.  _'You think he's going to want to be around you now after this?!'_ This was fucked up beyond repair.

"You ok?" Roman asked concerned after a brief pause of silence. Embarrassed that he heard him retching. The door creaked open a little more as he poked his head around to survey his damaged and delicate friend. All Seth could muster was a lame measly nod as his forehead crashed into the balls of his knees. In fact, he did feel a lot better, his stomach seemed much more relaxed now, however, his head still beat like a bass drum. But it was the gnawing mixture of guilt, shame, and betrayal that tore through him, making his stomach nauseous all over again. The pain more excruciating than a thousand hangovers. Roman chuckled lightly as he moved to lean against the sink, staring down at his friend's sorry state. "You should know better not to try and keep up with Ambrose. The guy drinks like a fish."

"I fucked up Ro." His voice seemed so small, so distant. He wasn't even sure he had uttered the words.

"You'll be fine." Roman reassured him "Once you get some food in you. You'll feel right as rain." Seth nodded. But he wasn't talking about his hangover.


End file.
